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span class="caption" style="width: 398px;">Photos by J. AdigunaPresident Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono received credential letters on Tuesday from seven new foreign ambassadors in a ceremony at the Merdeka Palace that marked the beginning of their tenures here.

The ambassadors are Ghulam Sakhi Ghairat of Afghanistan, Andreas Karabaczek of Austria, Lopato Zagorsky of Belarus, Fuad Sabeta of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kouily Souphakhet of Laos, Mustafa Ibrahim AA Mubarak of Saudi Arabia, and Jovan Jovanovi of Serbia.

“Welcome and congratulations on your new assignment,” Yudhoyono told the new envoys.

Presidential special staff for international affairs Teuku Faizasyah said the new ambassadors had been involved in discussions with Yudhoyono where they expressed pledges to improve relationships with Indonesia.

“Each of the ambassadors also presented what will be their priorities during their terms in Indonesia,” Teuku said.

“The Saudi ambassador, for example, highlighted his country’s interest in boosting ties particularly in the sectors of trade, as well as culture and tourism,” he added.