Australia Wednesday announced appointments of new Ambassadors to Austria and Sweden and new Consul-General in Phuket.
Senior diplomat Richard Sadleir has been appointed as Australia’s next Ambassador to Austria. He will also be accredited to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, Kosovo, Slovakia and Slovenia.
“Australia has warm relations with these countries founded on community ties and a shared commitment to the rules-based international order”, Foreign Minister Marise Payne said in her statement.
She said Austria and Australia enjoy a strong relationship and growing economic ties. Two-way investment reached nearly $6 billion last year and two-way goods trade has almost doubled in the past decade.
Richard Sadleir is accredited to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, Kosovo, Slovakia and Slovenia
Vienna is one of the four headquarters of the United Nations and hosts International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) besides others. Mr Sadleir will represent Australia on the IAEA Board of Governors and will prosecute Australia’s interests across this challenging multilateral agenda.
Mr Bernard Philip will replace Ambassador Jonathan Kenna as Australia’s next Ambassador to Sweden. Mr Philip will also be accredited to Finland and Latvia.
Australia enjoys a warm relationship with Sweden, which is built on our strong people-to-people links and shared values. Australia and Sweden cooperate closely to promote international security, human rights and the rules-based international order.
Australia’s total goods and services trade with Sweden was valued at $4.0 billion in 2017-18. Swedish investment in Australia was worth $8 billion in 2017, and Australian investment in Sweden was $9.3 billion.
Ambassador Philip will also be accredited to Finland and Latvia
Similarly, Australia shares warm relations with Finland and Latvia, based on liberal, democratic values and looks forward to furthering our trade and investment ties with these nations.
Foreign Minister Payne also announced appointment of Matthew Barclay as Australia’s next Consul-General in Phuket with responsibility for the provinces of Phuket, Krabi and Phang-Nga.
The Consulate-General provides essential passports and consular support to an area that is popular with Australian travellers – approximately 800,000 Australians visit Thailand each year.
Australia and Thailand enjoy a deep relationship underpinned by shared economic and strategic interests and extensive community links. Thailand is Australia’s ninth-largest trading partner, and both nations work closely together on issues including defence, security, digital economy and agriculture.
