No. Date

M216 1 December 1992

DIPLOMA TIC APPOINTMENT: VIENNA

The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Senator Gareth Evans, today  announced the appointment of Mr Ronald Walker as Australia's Ambassador to  Austria and Permanent Representative to international organisations with  headquarters in Vienna.

Mr Walker will also be accredited from Vienna as Ambassador to the  Republics of Croatia and Slovenia.

Senator Evans said that Australia and Austria enjoyed warm and productive relations,  marked by active cooperation on international issues and steady growth in trade.  Several Australian companies were established in Austria which offered them a  convenient gateway into Eastern Europe.

He said Australia had been one of the first countries to recognise Croatia and  Slovenia as independent states, reflecting Australia's support for the selfÂ­ determination of the Croatian and Slovenian p~ople and the strength of community  links between Australia and the two republics. '

Mr Walker will be accredited to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the  United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), the United Nations  International Drugs Control Program (UNDCP), the Commission on the Status of  Women (CSW) and the Commission for Social Development.

Mr Walker will also be Australiis Governor on the IAEA Board of Governors.

Senator Evans said Australia was a strong supporter of the IAEA, particularly its  crucial international role in nuclear safeguards and nuclear safety.

Mr Walker, a career officer of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, is  currently Australian Ambassador and Permanent Representative at the United Nations  in Geneva. He was Ambassador to Denmark from 1980-83 and later headed the then  Disarmament, Defence and Nuclear Division in the Department in Canberra. He had  earlier served in Cambodia, the Philippines, Britain, Turkey and France.

Mr Walker will take up his appointment in Vienna in May 1993.

COMMONWEALTH  PARLIAMENTARY LIBRARY

