PI/1730
4 August 2006

United Nations Information Centre for Australia, New Zealand, South Pacific Opens in Canberra

NEW YORK, 3 August (UN Headquarters) -- The United Nations Information Centre for Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific officially opened its premises in Canberra on 1 August, having relocated there from Sydney, where the Centre had operated for the past 58 years. The move to new premises in the Australian capital was made possible by the generous support of the Australian Government.

Located at 7 National Circuit, Barton, the Centre is in close proximity to Australia's Parliament House and major Government offices, including those of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, as well as the embassies of many United Nations Member States.

The United Nations Information Centre in Australia was established in 1948. It also serves New Zealand and the South Pacific States of Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Samoa. The Centre's Director is Abdullah Saleh Mbamba, a national of the United Republic of Tanzania, who previously served as Director of the United Nations Information Centres in Islamabad and in Jakarta. Further information can be found at the Centre's website: www.un.org.au.

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