McCully appoints new Ambassador to Germany

Foreign Minister Murray McCully has appointed diplomat Rod Harris as New Zealand’s new Ambassador to Germany.

“Our diplomatic relationship with Germany is in very good shape,” Mr McCully says.

“We work together closely at the United Nations and Germany is an influential member of the European Union and the G20.

“Germany is also a major trading partner for New Zealand. Two-way trade in goods amounts to nearly $3 billion per year and Germany is currently the third largest European investor in New Zealand.

“Over 70,000 German tourists visit New Zealand each year and almost 4000 students travel from Germany to study here annually,” Mr McCully says.

Mr Harris was until recently New Zealand’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, in addition to Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar, and led our engagement with the Gulf Cooperation Council. As Ambassador to Germany he will also be accredited to the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania and Switzerland.

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