RIYADH, 5 January 2008 — The new Saudi ambassador-designate to Sri Lanka said he hopes to shift the present Saudi mission to a new location in Colombo to provide enhanced services to visitors.
Abdul Aziz Al-Jammaz, who has been appointed to succeed Mohammed Mahmud Al-Ali as Saudi ambassador in Colombo, told Arab News that the mission in Colombo needs a bigger space in view of the extended services offered to the increasing number of people who come for consular and other services.
The new envoy will also be accredited to Maldives.
Al-Jammaz, who is currently attached to the Foreign Ministry in Riyadh, is slated to assume duties in Colombo in early February. A geography graduate of Imam Muhammad ibn Saud University in Riyadh, Al-Jammaz counts 27 years of experience in the Kingdom’s foreign service. During his career, he had served in Accra, London, Brussels and Amman.
“I have heard a lot of good things about Sri Lanka and I am happy to represent the Kingdom in a country that has close ties with Saudi Arabia,” Al-Jammaz said, adding that he would continue the good work of his predecessor and explore new areas of cooperation for bilateral ties to reach greater heights in all sectors.
The Saudi Embassy in Colombo was established in the early 1990s with Abdullah Al-Zahrani as the first charge d’affaires, who was succeeded by Ali Al-Hamdan. In 2001, the Kingdom upgraded the mission and sent Mahmud Al-Ali as its first ambassador to Sri Lanka. Al-Ali served in Colombo until he moved to Pretoria after his appointment as ambassador to South Africa in December 2007.
