 Well, I suppose the first question that most Australians might ask of someone in your position is what's it like to live in Saudi Arabia? Yes, we often get that question and I have a stock answer for that and I tell people it's like living in Canberra. It's much better than you expect. And you even get that question from Saudis, ones who live in Jeddah or Mecca or Medina and those three countries are less conservative than in Riyadh and they look at you and go, oh, how do you like living in Riyadh? Actually, it's great. It does get hot, 50 degrees in the summer plus, but you can get out and do exercise and at night you see all these little families dotted around the desert, around the fire, drinking coffee and having picnics and so they live their life there but live in air conditioning during the day. But in summary it's a really good place to be, quite surprising. On the surface though it looks like Australia and Saudi Arabia wouldn't necessarily have very much in common. What sort of common interests do we share? Yes, you're right. It's broader than you expect. Firstly, Saudi Arabia is in the G20 and of course we're hosting the G20 next year so we have common interest in the global economy. Saudi Arabia was a founding member of the UN security, of the UN in the 40s and it hasn't served in the UN Security Council yet. It is going for the UN Security Council this year so we might be on the Council at the same time. We also deal with it through our interest in, from our Muslim population here, of course we get 3 or 4,000 Muslim pilgrims to Mecca and Medina every year who are hosted by other Saudi government and we're also a member of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation as we have a representative there and so in interfaith dialogue and other such issues we have some similar views and on those views we don't see eye to eye on. We have a conversation about it. And so how's the trade then between the two countries? It's not as good as we would expect but it's pretty solid. It's in dollar terms, it's about 2.2 billion dollars. That's made up of 800 million dollars of Camrys. Camrys made in Australia are very popular in Saudi Arabia. They last a long time and the young kids can spin around in them on the roads and that's one of the problems that they have a very high death toll unfortunately not because of the Camrys but because of the abandon with which they drive. It's a big problem. But Australia is also playing a role in solving that because an Australian company is providing the speed cameras which are very unpopular at the moment in some circles in Saudi Arabia. We also supply wheat and barley and sheep and beef so we seem very much as part of their food security which is important. We also the trade there's 11,000 Saudi scholars studying in Australia. 11,000 plus the 6,000 family dependents so that brings in a healthy income to the country but more importantly it creates thousands of ambassadors for Australia when they come back to Saudi Arabia and they bring back ideas, they bring back links in the business community and they come back as tourists as well. So it's an important link and we also have five or 6,000 Australians working in Saudi Arabia in various sectors and helping out in the development of that country and finance and education and infrastructure. So there's a lot going on more than you would expect. So how then is Australia perceived in Saudi Arabia? Yes it depends who you ask. Most Saudis will start off talking about the kangaroos and the wildlife and the dangerous animals that we have and then they then would tend to talk about sheep and the meat as Australian sheep is very popular in Saudi Arabia. If you talk a little bit more to them they would then politely raise the question is why do we shoot camels here? Because we have as you know about a million feral camels and they have seen videos and films of these camels being shot by helicopter and in the Arab and Saudi culture camels are very dear loving loyal creatures and so they get quite saddened when they when they see these scenes. So we explain that of course and to say it doesn't happen very much anymore but they're looking at importing camels to Saudi Arabia from Australia which would be quite a calls to Newcastle as they say especially young camels because they they use them for wedding feasts and things as it's the young camel is very popular dish. It can be quite chewy but it's not too bad it's very lean. Neil we've heard so much over the past couple of years about the Arab Spring and the effect that that's having across the Middle East. Is it having much of an impact in Saudi Arabia? It has. The Saudis have managed the Arab Spring pretty cleverly I think. 60% of the population is under 30. So there's a very young population age and these young people across the Arab world have started to mobilize and what the Saudi government has learned is they have to listen to their population. So they've gone about it in several ways. Firstly the king announced King Abdullah $130 billion of funding to build 500,000 houses to give everyone salary increases to do more training and to do more scholarships abroad. These 11,000 students that study in Australia are part of 150,000 Saudi scholars who have been sent overseas as part of an educational visionary program in my view by King Abdullah. So they're listening to their population. At the same time they're allowing the population giving it more leeway especially on in the media. So in the media you have in the print media more critical articles of the government and of services, surprisingly critical actually. And then the social media, 23% of Saudis use Facebook. They're one of the highest users of Twitter. YouTube millions of hits every day and you can only if you wanted to have a look on something, look at Saudi Gangam style and you will see quite a funny video on Saudis doing Gangam style. So there's a whole range of ways in which the government is sort of lifting the barrier for criticism and in that turn making the government more responsive. So some people view the Arab Spring as a revolt or revolution from the young. There isn't anger among the young in Saudi Arabia. There's a lot of love for the king. There is frustration and the kingdom is managing to deal with that quite well. I think they're spending money but they're also lifting restrictions. So with that combination I think they're managing to develop as a country as a result of the Arab Spring and not go through the turmoil that other countries have. Their motto I think is evolution not revolution. Of course you're not only the ambassador to Saudi Arabia. You also cover Yemen, Bahrain and Oman. What's it like being the ambassador to those four different countries? Firstly it's great to be able to get the regional perspective. Every time you go to different country it helps your broader understanding of the regional dynamics. Bahrain is a small country. We have long-standing interests there. We have the Navy ship operates out of Bahrain. There is ongoing political process I suppose you could say linked to the Arab Spring. In Bahrain which we are watching and trying to contribute to. In Yemen it's a country. Yemen has the largest population in the Gulf of Arabs about 23-24 million. It's the most heavily armed country in the world. Lots of light arms around and they're going through a national dialogue process there. Getting down to Sanaa is the capital of Yemen is amazing experience. The old city in Sanaa is a world heritage. It's amazing. The Yemenis are extraordinary people and they've decided to take a path of dialogue rather than of conflict in solving that problem. So again it's a very interesting times there. Oman is a real gem. It's a beautiful country. Lots of tourism. It has a very interesting history and we also have about 700 Omani students studying in Australia and that number is increasing. So on every level we are working more with those countries in the region. And together by going through and visiting each one you get a better understanding of the region but also of each of those countries. So it's really a very enjoyable and worthwhile thing. I feel very privileged to be able to be doing it. Neil you mentioned tourism earlier. Is there anything in particular that Australians should bear in mind if they're planning to visit Saudi Arabia or any of the other countries in the Middle East? That's a good question. There are no tourists per se to Saudi Arabia. They don't see tourist visas. But there is a lot of religious tourism and so we do get our Muslim Australians visiting Saudi Arabia. We have especially around the time of the Hajj. We have special bulletins on the travel website encouraging them, advising them how they should behave and what things they should be aware of. And that really would encourage Muslim Australians to read that before they travel. In Yemen we advise people not to visit Yemen. Kidnapping threat is very high. And in Bahrain we suggest you reconsider your need to travel. There are still some unrest there. Oman is there are no problems. It has a very healthy tourist industry. And it certainly would be a place that I think many Australians do go there and have a wonderful time there. Thanks very much Neil for speaking to us today. Thank you. That was Neil Hawkins, Australia's Ambassador to Saudi Arabia as well as Yemen, Oman and Bahrain.