New Ambassador to Thailand named

Foreign Minister Murray McCully has announced diplomat Ben King as New Zealand’s next Ambassador to Thailand.

“Thailand is our tenth largest trading partner, with total trade of over $2.4 billion last year,” Mr McCully says.

“Thailand is the second largest and fourth richest ASEAN economy, and a gateway to mainland ASEAN.   It is a long-standing and important partner for us in the wider region, where we have worked together in many fields. 

“Thailand is New Zealand’s largest source of overseas students from South East Asia, and education cooperation between our countries is growing. There are also strong tourism links with more than 21,000 Thai people visiting New Zealand in 2014.

“Given these strong ties we continue to call for a return to democratic rule in Thailand, brought about  through an open and inclusive process,” Mr McCully says.

Mr King was previously the Foreign Policy Adviser to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. He has also been a senior trade negotiator and has had postings to Washington DC, Canberra and Riyadh.