New ambassador for Australian Embassy in Thailand announced

James Wise has been appointed Australia’s Ambassador to Thailand, and will replace Paul Grigson who has been ambassador since July 2008. Mr Wise will take up his appointment later this month.

Australia has a longstanding and close relationship with Thailand, and the Australian Embassy in Bangkok is one of Australia’s largest overseas missions.

Australia and Thailand are major partners in trade and investment, law enforcement, defence, education and tourism.  Thailand is now Australia’s ninth largest trading partner and second largest in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, with two way merchandise trade reaching AU$19 billion in 2009.

Thailand is a popular destination for Australian travellers with up to 4,000,000 Australian tourists travelling to Thailand each year.

Australia is also the preferred destination for Thai students studying abroad, with approximately 17,000 Thai students studying in Australia.

The Australian Embassy in Bangkok provides a variety of services to Australians and Australian businesses, including consular services to the estimated 20,000 Australians present in Thailand at any one time.

The Australian Visa Bureau is an independent consulting company specialising in helping people lodge their Australian Visa application with the Australian Immigration Department.