Four new ambassadors submit credentials

Ukrainian Ambassador Volodymyr Pakhil (from left), Turkish Ambassador Zekeriya Akcam, Peruvian Ambassador Roberto Seminario Portocarrero and Indian Ambassador Gurjit Singh submit letters of credentials to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at the State Palace in Jakarta on Tuesday. (JP/Jerry Adiguna)

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono received letters of credentials on Tuesday from four new foreign ambassadors in a ceremony at the State Palace in Jakarta.

The four new envoys are Gurjit Singh of India, Zekeriya Akcam of Turkey, Volodymyr Pakhil of Ukraine and Roberto Seminario Portocarrero of Peru.

The President was accompanied by a number of Cabinet members, including Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa and State Secretary Sudi Silalahi.

“Our relationships with these four nations are strong and in good shape. President Yudhoyono, upon welcoming the ambassadors, called for efforts to seek new opportunities in the sectors of trade, investment, education and so on,” Marty told reporters at the palace.

“The new envoys were also told to enhance cooperation with Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry,” he added.

Singh, also known as a scholar and author of several books, formerly served as the head of East and Southern Africa division of the Indian ministry of external affairs.

Turkey’s Akcam, meanwhile, is a politician and used to be an advisor to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. He was a lawmaker from 2002 to 2007 and served as Turkish representative at the European Convention and the Council of Europe’s parliamentary assembly.

The Ukrainian diplomat, Pakhil, is a former deputy head of the department for new challenges and threats at Ukraine’s ministry of foreign affairs.

Portocarrero of Peru was formerly Peru’s deputy permanent representative to the UN Agencies in Rome, based in the Peruvian embassy in Italy. (mtq)