Ambassador of Ireland to Saudi Arabia

A Cháirde / أصدقائي الأعزاء / Dear Friends

Fáilte / أهلاً وسهلاً بكم / Welcome to the website of the Embassy of Ireland in Riyadh.

It is a great privilege to serve as Ireland’s Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as well as to the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Sultanate of Oman and the Republic of Yemen.

Ireland and Saudi Arabia have enjoyed more than 50 years of diplomatic relations, built on a friendship and connections between our peoples that go back much further. Today, that relationship continues to grow across trade and investment, education, technology and innovation, culture and, importantly, people-to-people links.

Having previously had the opportunity to live and work in Riyadh, I am particularly pleased to return to the Kingdom with my family at such an exciting time. I look forward to working closely with our Saudi partners and friends to deepen our bilateral relationship, identify new areas for cooperation and further strengthen the connections between our two countries.

I also look forward to working closely with our Team Ireland partners, Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland, Bord Bia and Tourism Ireland, and with the Irish community and friends of Ireland across the region. Our Irish business networks, GAA clubs and Irish societies play a particularly important role. They do tremendous work, much of it entirely on a voluntary basis, bringing people together, supporting our communities and strengthening Ireland’s connections across the region. I would encourage you to reach out to them, get involved and become part of these networks.

The Embassy is here to serve and support the Irish community across the region. If you are resident in or travelling to any of the countries to which the Embassy is accredited, we strongly recommend that you register your details with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. This helps us to communicate with and assist Irish citizens, particularly should an emergency or other need arise.

I look forward to meeting as many of you as possible in Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and elsewhere across Saudi Arabia, as well as during my visits to Bahrain, Oman and Yemen, over the weeks, months and years ahead.

As Ambassador, I hope to build on the strong foundations established over many years while opening new doors for engagement between Ireland and this dynamic and important region.

For further updates on our work, please continue to visit the Embassy website and follow us on X and LinkedIn, as well as through our new Ireland House Quarterly publication.

Ní neart go cur le chéile - there is no strength without unity. معًا أقوى - stronger together.

Le gach dea-ghuí / Best regards,

Micheál Smith
Ambassador of Ireland

Micheál Smith, from County Armagh, is Ireland's Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Sultanate of Oman, The Kingdom of Bahrain, and the Republic of Yemen.

Before taking up his posting in Riyadh, Micheál was Ireland’s Consul General in San Francisco with responsibility for the Western United States.

Previously, Micheál was Director of Global Ireland in the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) where he led efforts on widening and deepening Ireland's international influence and amplifying Ireland as a place to visit, live, do business, invest, study, innovate and enjoy, as set out in the Government’s Global Ireland 2025.

He led Ireland’s Embassy/Consulate expansion, Ireland’s presence at Expo 2020, the development of ireland.ie, and campaigns to increase Irish citizen engagement with Ireland’s global role, among other initiatives.

He started his career as an Economic Analyst in the Department of Communications and Energy based in Dublin before taking up a First Secretary role in the Embassy of Ireland in Singapore, with Asia-wide economic responsibilities. Micheál went on to establish IDA Ireland’s first ASEAN office, which he led for 3 years.

Micheál then moved to help drive IDA Ireland’s efforts in the US, focusing on the US Mid-West, South and South-East. For four years he worked with companies entering the Europe and EMEA markets for the first time as well as maintaining and enhancing Ireland’s relationship at executive level with many leading US MNCs already present in Ireland.

From 2017 to 2020, Micheál was based in Riyadh, where he held a senior economic policy and development role with KSA’s Ministry of Investment. His work focused on international investment policy and strategy, including the development of the Ministry’s global operations and international network, as part of the Kingdom’s wider economic transformation. He returned to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Dublin in 2020.

His first ever job, through school and university, was working weekends and holidays in his family’s food business.

Micheál holds a BSC in Management (Business & Economics) from Queen’s University Belfast and a MSC in Economic Policy Studies from Trinity College Dublin. He is married to Claire and they have four children - Sophie, Senan, Conan and Oisín. The family enjoy exploring, GAA, football, music, swimming, hiking, golf (Dad and sons mostly!), and hyrox (Mum and daughter exclusively!).