The Government wants our representation in Asia beefed up because of the increasing business opportunities, so the Department of Foreign Affairs is responding quickly. High flyers Bobby McDonagh, whose brother Philip is Ambassador to India, is to be ambassador to Malaysia, based in Kuala Lumpur and Brendan Lyons is moving as ambassador to Singapore.
Geoffrey Keating is being posted from London to Shanghai and Kay Coll, who has been with the economic division in Dublin, will join the embassy in Beijing on the trade side. Tom Brady is leaving our EU Permanent Representation office in Brussels to be new consul general in Sydney. He will take up his post in the new year and reports have it that the Taoiseach Bertie Ahern will travel to Australia to open his new offices. The visit, it is said, will just happen to coincide with the Olympics.
Also, in keeping with the Taoiseach's promise to the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, a consulate is to be opened in Ramallah which will deal mainly with bilateral aid. Isolde Moylan McNally, who has been in Dar es Salem, will move there shortly.