UK appoints its first ambassador to ASEAN

Veeramalla Anjaiah ,  THE JAKARTA POST ,  JAKARTA   |  Thu, 01/22/2009 5:50 PM  |  World

The United Kingdom has appointed Martin Alan Hatfull as its first ever ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), The British Embassy in Jakarta announced Wednesday.

Hatfull is the current UK Ambassador to Indonesia and will handle both positions concurrently.

A jubilant Hatfull said he had immediately accepted the new position.

"I am delighted to have been appointed as the UK's first Ambassador to ASEAN. It is a great honor for me," Hatfull said Wednesday.

The United Kingdom, the first member state of the EU to appoint an ambassador to ASEAN, attaches great importance to its relationship with ASEAN both bilaterally and as a member of the EU.

"We believe that ASEAN has an increasingly important role to play both regionally and globally and I look forward very much to working with secretary-general Surin *Pitsuwan* and his team to help achieve our common goals," Hatfull, one of the most popular ambassadors in Ja-karta, said. Surin welcomed Hatfull's appointment.

"We thank the UK for this significant gesture which underscores the importance that the UK attaches to ASEAN. We look forward to working with Ambassador

Hatfull to build closer ties bilaterally and to further strengthen our relationship with the European Union, which the UK is a member of," Surin said in a statement sent to The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

Hatfull, a career-diplomat, is not new to ASEAN. During his almost three decades as a diplomat, Hatfull has worked with ASEAN from his home country.

Prior to coming to Jakarta last year, Hatfull worked at the Foreign Commonwealth offices in London, Rome and Tokyo.

Under the newly adopted ASEAN Charter, non-ASEAN member states and relevant intergovernmental organizations may appoint ambassadors to ASEAN.

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