Hon Murray McCully
Minister of Foreign Affairs
27 July 2010 Media Statement
McCully names new Ambassador to Saudi Arabia

New Zealand’s next Ambassador to Saudi Arabia will be career diplomat Rod Harris, Foreign Minister Murray McCully said today.

Mr Harris will be based in Riyadh, and also accredited to Bahrain, Kuwait, and Oman.

“New Zealand and Saudi Arabia enjoy a warm and long-standing relationship that has grown significantly in the past few years as part of our efforts to deepen ties with the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council,” Mr McCully said.

“More broadly, New Zealand sees significant potential to grow our political and economic relationships with Bahrain, Kuwait, and Oman. Trade Minister Tim Groser led a large business delegation to the region recently, and the success of that trip shows there are real opportunities for us to work more closely with Gulf countries.”

Saudi Arabia is one of New Zealand’s top 20 trading partners, with bilateral trade worth nearly $750 million last year. New Zealand’s exports reached $475 million, led by dairy and meat, with imports consisting largely of oil and fertiliser.

Two-way trade with Kuwait is worth $245 million, with exports led by meat and dairy, against imports of oil. Two-way trade with Oman is worth $131 million, again dominated by dairy and oil, while trade with Bahrain stood at $89 million, led by dairy exports of $60 million.

Mr Harris is currently deputy head of the International Trade Law Unit at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and has previously served in Seoul, and as a legal adviser to the Commonwealth Secretariat in London. He succeeds Dr Trevor Matheson in Riyadh.

ENDS

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