King receives credentials of five foreign envoys to Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama): The Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah received the credentials of five foreign envoys to Malaysia, at Istana Negara here on Thursday (Jan 16).

Also present at the ceremony was the Raja Permaisuri Agong Tunku Hajah Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah.

The five foreign envoys are Hiroshi Oka from Japan; Lee Chi Beom (South Korea); Cheuy Vichet (Cambodia); Ivan Velimir Starcevic (Croatia) and Nail Latypov from Russia.

Oka, who began his career with the Japanese foreign service in 1982 and has served in several countries previously including Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom, was also director-general of the Middle Eastern and African Affairs Bureau in 2017.

Lee in turn, was the president of the Korea Environment and Resources Corporation in 2003 and was appointed the Minister of Environment in 2006.

Vichet, who possesses legal qualifications, served as First Secretary of the Royal Embassy of Cambodia to Japan from 2007 to 2014.

Starcevic served as director for Euroasia, Eastern Partnership, Asia and Oceania at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia prior to his current appointment, while Latypov was deputy director of the Consular Department at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2015 to 2019.

Before presenting their credentials to Sultan Abdullah, the five envoys were saluted by the guard-of-honour at the Istana Negara compound. - Bernama