MINISTER FOR  FOREIGN AFFAIRS No. Date

M39 11 March 1984

ÃÂÃÂ¼ 6 >

NEWS RELEASE

AMBASSADOR TO AUSTRIA AND HUNGARY

The Minister for Foreign Affairs/Â· Mr B i l l  Hayden/ M.P./ today

announced the appointment of Mr John Kelso as A ustralia's Ambassador to

Austria and Hungary. He w ill be resident in Vienna.

Mr Kelso w ill take up his apointment shortly/ succeeding Mr Duncan

Campbell who has been Ambassador since 1980.

Mr Hayden said that Australia enjoyed a frie n d ly  and cooperative

relationship with Austria. There had been growing a c tiv ity  in such areas as

b ila te ra l trade and cultural exchanges. There had been close consultations

on refugee issues in recent years.

Both countries also maintained regular contact on a range of matters

of international in te re s t/ including developments in Europe and the Middle East.

Mr Hayden said th a t/ given its  neutral status/ Austria's view on East-West

relations were of particular interest to A ustralia.

Mr Hayden said that Australia had frien d ly tie s  with Hungary. The

two countries held regular discussions on international issues of mutual

in te re s t/ including disarmament and developments in Europe. Good working

relationships had been established on a range of matters of b ila te r a l interest

and there were good prospects for expansion of the trade and economic relationship.

Mr Hayden noted that Vienna as an important conference centre/ was

a major focus for A ustralia's m u ltila te ra l diplomacy. Several international

organisations have th e ir headquarters in Vienna and Mr Kelso would be

Australian Governor on the Board of Governers of the In ternatio nal Atomic

Energy Agency and Permanent Representative to the United Nations In d u strial

Development Organisation.

In the disarmament f i e l d /  Vienna was the venue for East-West

negotiations on Mutual and Balanced Force Reductions in Europe and in 1986

w ill be the venue for the Resumed Conference on Security and Cooperation in

Europe.

Mr Kelso is presently Disarmament Adviser in the Department of

Foreign A ffa irs . He served as Ambassador to B razil and B olivia from 1974 to

1977. He has also served in Bangkok/ Rio de Janiero/ The Hague/ Manila and

New York.

