

MEDIA RELEASE MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS ALEXANDER DOWNER FA140            14  October  2004









DIPLOMATIC APPOINTMENT: AMBASSADOR TO SAUDI ARABIA

I  have  today  announced  the  appointment  of  Ian  Biggs  as  Australian  Ambassador  to  the   Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with non-resident accreditation to the Kingdom of Bahrain and the  Republic of Yemen.

Mr Biggs will replace Bob Tyson, who has been Ambassador since June 2002.  Mr Biggs is  expected to take up his appointment in January 2005.

Australia  greatly  values  its  relations  with  Saudi  Arabia,  a  major  economy  and  highly   influential  country  in  a  region  of  global  strategic  signficance.   Saudi  Arabia  is  Australia’s   largest trade partner in the Middle East.  It is a major market for Australian exports of motor  vehicles, dairy products and live animals.  Trade in services, including education and tourism,  is growing in importance.  In 2003, Australian exports to Saudi Arabia totalled $1.8 billion.  Saudi  exports  to  Australia,  principally  comprising  crude  and  refined  petroleum,  were  worth   $916  million.   Several  thousand  Australians  are  employed  in  Saudi  Arabia,  in  health,   education and other specialist areas.

Australia also values its political and commercial relations with Bahrain, Oman and Yemen.   As  their  economies  open  and  diversify,  Bahrain,  Oman  and  Yemen  represent  growing  trade   and investment opportunities for Australian exporters and investors.

Mr Biggs is a senior career diplomat with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and is  currently  Special  Assistant  to  the  Director  General  of  the  International  Atomic  Energy   Agency.  He has also served as Third Secretary in Cairo (1986-88); Third Secretary and later  Second Secretary in Riyadh (1988-91); First Secretary and later Counsellor in Damascus and  Liaison Officer in Beirut (1992-94); and Deputy Head of Mission in Vienna (1998-2001).

In  Canberra,  Mr  Biggs  has  held  the  positions  of  Director  in  Executive,  Planning  and   Evaluation  Branch  (2001-02);  Executive  Director,  Treaties  Secretariat  (1996-98);  and  Desk   Officer in Middle East and Africa Branch (1991-92).  Mr Biggs has also served as a Senior  Analyst in the Office of National Assessments (1994-96).

Mr Biggs holds a Bachelor of Arts degree with double honours from the University of Sydney  and a Master of Arts (International Relations) from the Australian National University.  He is  married with two school-age children.



Media inquiries:   Chris Kenny (Ministerial) 02 6277 7500/0419 206890  Julie McDonald (Departmental) 02 6261 1555







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