By SAT News Desk
MELBOURNE, 19 March 2021: Ms. Sarah Kirlew is Australia’s next Consul-General in Chennai. This was announced by Hon. Marise Payne, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Minister for Women, and the Acting Defence Minister, says a media release.
Ms. Kirlew is a career officer with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. She has previously served overseas in Beijing, New Delhi, and Cairo. In Canberra she has worked in a range of Indo-Pacific focused foreign and economic policy roles within the department, including on Australia’s strategy for the Indo-Pacific and geo-economic issues.
Introducing our new Consul General for South India, Ms Sarah Kirlew! pic.twitter.com/RJZauOnetc
— Aus Consulate Chennai (@AusCGChennai) February 4, 2021
Ms. Kirlew holds a Master of Public Policy and Management from the University of London; and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Sydney.
Ms.Kirlew will replace outgoing Consul-General Susan Grace who has been holding the post in Chennai since 2018.
The Consulate-General in Chennai is located on India’s Indian Ocean coastline and plays a key role in pursuing Australia’s strategic, trade and investment interests in the southern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and the Union Territories of Puducherry and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Our consular officers in Chennai have been central to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s support for Australians seeking to return during COVID-19, with five flights facilitated from Chennai alone since 23 October 2020.
