H.E. Gerard Cunningham

Ambassador Cunningham moved to Riyadh in September 2022.

A Message from the Irish Ambassador

It is always a great honor to be asked to represent your country as Ambassador. I am particularly pleased to have been appointed to represent Ireland in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (with secondary accreditation to the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Sultanate of Oman, and the Republic of Yemen).

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia enjoys a central and increasingly prominent role globally, both in political and in economic terms. It is the only Arab country to be a member of the G20 and it is currently home to one of the fastest-growing economies across in the world.

There is, of course, a longstanding and very positive relationship between Ireland and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the Embassy team, including Enterprise Ireland colleagues based here, are fully committed to further develop and strengthen this relationship.

My appointment comes at a time of significant economic and social transformation in Saudi Arabia, as set out in Vision 2030 . Ireland and Saudi Arabia have close relations going back many decades, with a large and vibrant Irish community living in the Kingdom and directly contributing to the realisation of Vision 2030.

Our community and our companies have very close links in a number of key sectors, including: agri-business, aviation services, construction and engineering, education, financial services and healthcare.

I congratulate the Committee of the Irish Business Network on their commitment, enthusiasm, and achievements in promoting stronger Irish - Saudi Arabia business links, and I look forward to many years of close collaboration in further strengthening our business and our wider bilateral relations.

Follow us on twitter @IrishEmbRiyadh

or visit https://www.dfa.ie/irish-embassy/saudi-arabia/ for more information