Taipei, Jan. 27 (CNA) Australia's new representative to Taiwan Jenny Bloomfield is set to assume her post Feb. 1, the Australian Office in Taipei announced Wednesday.

Bloomfield was Australia's Ambassador to Greece from 2011-2014 and has also served in Japan, Argentina and Iran, according to a statement issued by the office.

She holds a master's degree in International Relations from Monash University and a Bachelor of Laws (honors), a Bachelor of Arts, and a Bachelor of Letters from the University of Melbourne, the statement said.

Bloomfield speaks Mandarin, Japanese, Greek, French, Spanish, Italian and Farsi, according to the statement.

The office said Taiwan is an important trading partner for Australia, and the two sides have been expanding their people-to-people contacts in areas such as the arts, culture, education, science, tourism and sport.

Recently, Australia and Taiwan have been focused on responding to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the office said.

"Taiwan's world-leading epidemic prevention has bolstered its reputation in Australia and on the global stage and the challenges of the pandemic have deepened our cooperation," it said.

Australia is a long-term, reliable supplier of energy, resources and services to Taiwan, with total trade of nearly AU$19 billion (US$14.68 billion) in 2019-2020 and two-way investment of over AU$27 billion in 2019, according to the office.

In addition, under the Australian government's New Colombo Plan, it has awarded 37 scholarships and 1,007 mobility grants to Australian undergraduates, since 2015, for study and work-based experience in Taiwan, the office said.

"Our interests intersect across many areas such as education and vocational skills, energy innovation and investment, biotechnology, smart cities and multilateral affairs," it said.