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DPC travel outcomes report: Daniel Andrews’ 2017 travel to Israel and Greece

Information about costs, purpose and outcomes of the Premier’s travel to Israel and Greece in December 2017.

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Minister The Hon Daniel Andrews MP
Portfolio Premier of Victoria
Countries visited Israel and Greece
Date of travel 5 to 10 December 2017
No of official travel days (including date of departure and date of return) 6
Accompanying ministerial staff Hon Marsha Thomson MP, Special Adviser to the Premier of Victoria Hamish Park, Deputy Chief of Staff Georgia Brumby, Senior Media Manager Josh Burns, Senior Adviser Elida Jaksic, Senior Adviser
Accompanied by spouse in an official capacity No
Funding source Premier’s Private Office and the Department of Premier and Cabinet
Airfares (including taxes and fees) $57,348.43
Accommodation (including taxes and fees) $12,950.09
Other expenses (includes surface travel and travel allowances) $20,696.32
Travel cost for minister and staff $90,994.84
Are the above costs final and complete? No

Purpose of travel

From 5 to 10 December 2017, I travelled to Israel and Greece to further Victoria’s strategic objectives through high level government meetings and engagements, to drive trade and investment outcomes, and to promote Victoria’s expertise in medical technology and the creative industries.

Benefits of travel to the State of Victoria

Benefits of the trip to Victoria include:

Government to Government relationships

This trip provided the opportunity to meet with key Government officials, strengthening our connection with national level partners including:

Trade and investment

On this trip I promoted Victoria as a trusted trade and investment partner committed to our relationship with Israel.

I announced increased engagement with Israel including:

To support these initiatives, and to promote trade and investment outcomes, I also met with the Chairman of the IACC, Major General (Ret.) Ido Nehushtan and hosted an event with the IACC to meet with key Israeli business leaders and influencers.

Medical research and technology

The trip provided the opportunity to promote Victoria’s expertise in medical research and technology. At an event at the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Aviv, I announced the Biomedical Innovation and Commercialisation Exchange.

This initiative is a strategic approach to support strengthened collaboration on biomedical research and innovation and to leverage Israel’s unique commercialisation expertise. The initiative will be supported by the appointment of a Biomedical Director based in the new VGTI and a Liaison Officer based in the Melbourne Biomedical Precinct.

As part of this initiative, the Victorian Government also announced support for two key partnerships between Victoria and Israel including:

This trip also provided the opportunity to re-engage on our existing collaboration with Israel in science and innovation, including through the Victoria-Israel Science Innovation and Technology Scheme (VISITS). This program will continue to supports Victorian companies to travel to Israel for business, as well as bilateral research collaborations and proof of concept projects.

Cultural and people to people ties

Victoria is home to Australia’s largest Israel-born, Jewish and Greek communities.The trip provided the opportunity to acknowledge and strengthen the deep cultural ties between Victoria and Israel and Victoria and Greece through a number of engagements, including:

Israel

Greece

Next steps

My visit to Israel reaffirmed the significant opportunities for continued collaboration and partnership with Israel. The Victorian Government and newly established VGTI will work with the Victorian and Israeli business sector to promote Victoria, build relationships and explore opportunities for trade and investment. Victoria will also host a number of key Israeli stakeholders to facilitate collaboration.

In Greece I was able to ensure the continued development of our deep and long-standing cultural connection with Greece. We will continue to work across government to progress and implement the announcements made on the trip, including the Greek language education program, Benaki Museum exchange, and supporting war commemoration initiatives in Lemnos and with the Premier’s Spirit of Anzac anniversary tour.

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Updated 19 June 2023

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