President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono received letters of credence on Tuesday from 11 new foreign ambassadors in a ceremony at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta.

Among the 11 new envoys, six are based in Jakarta and the remaining five are based in Hanoi, Canberra, New Delhi and Singapore.

“Congratulations on your appointments as ambassadors to Indonesia. I am hoping under your tenures we can further strengthen our bilateral cooperation,” President Yudhoyono said in a welcome meeting after the ceremony.

The President also gave a brief introduction to Indonesia where he highlighted that Indonesia was “in the process of transformation from 12-years-ago when Indonesia was hit by a very deep and severe crisis.”

Among the new ambassadors is Min Lwin of Myanmar, a country currently in the global spotlight due to prolonged communal violence. The conflicts between the Rohingya and Rakhine ethnic groups over the past month has resulted in the deaths of 78 people while hundreds of others were injured and thousands of homes were destroyed.

According to a release by the Presidential foreign affairs office, Yudhoyono applauded Min for Myanmar’s “encouraging political transformations”.

“As Indonesia also went through significant political transformation in the past, we are more than willing to share our experiences and best practice with your government,” the President added.

To Anil Kumar Nayar of Singapore, Yudhoyono said he recalled his invitation for Singaporean President Tony Tan Keng Yam to visit Indonesia.

Yudhoyono told Abdul Rahman Sallahdeen of Nigeria that Indonesia was interested in working closely with the African country to develop cooperation with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

“Nigeria is a key country in Western Africa. Through Indonesia, Nigeria can tap into economic opportunities in the ASEAN Economic Community,” the President said.

The appeal for greater cooperation in the economic field, meanwhile, was highlighted by Yudhoyono particularly when he talked to Abd Al Rahim Al Siddiq Mohamed Omar of Sudan, Stig Traavik of Norway, Martin Bille Herman of Denmark, Carlos Maria Irigaray Santana of Uruguay and Slobodan Tasovski of Macedonia.

To Traavik, the President delivered his cordial invitation to King Harald V to make an official visit to Indonesia on Nov. 26-28.

The President was accompanied by Cabinet members including Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, State Secretary Sudi Silalahi and Cabinet Secretary Dipo Alam.

6 resident ambassadors:

• Min Lwin of Myanmar
• Anil Kumar Nayar of Singapore
• Stig Traavik of Norway
• Abdul Rahman Sallahdeen of Nigeria
• Abd Al-Rahim Al-Siddiq Mohamed Omar of Sudan
• Martin Bille Hermann of Denmark

5 non-resident ambassadors:

• Lemalu Samau Tate Simi of Samoa, based in Canberra
• Jeanine Kambanda of Rwanda, based in Singapore
• Carlos Maria Irigaray Santana of Uruguay, based in Hanoi
• Slobodan Tasovski of Macedonia, based in New Delhi
• Idriss Raoua Ouedraogo of Burkina Faso, based in New Delhi

Source: Presidential Office

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