New envoys submit credentials to Susilo

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono received on Thursday credential letters from newly appointed ambassadors from the Netherlands, Sri Lanka and Myanmar during a state ceremony at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta.

The credential letters were presented by ambassadors Dr. Nikolaos van Dam from the Netherlands, Maj. Gen. (ret) K. Janaka C. Perera from Sri Lanka and U Khin Zaw Win from Myanmar.

The three ambassadors, who were received by the President in three separate ceremonies, talked to Susilo after submitting their credentials. The President who was accompanied by, among others, Cabinet Secretary Sudi Silalahi and State Secretary Yusril Ihza Mahendra

Ambassador van Dam, who holds a doctorate degree, is an experienced career diplomat. Prior to his appointment in Jakarta, van Dam was the Dutch Ambassador to Germany. He has served in Ankara, Cairo, Tripoli, Beirut in various positions between 1980 to 1999. He speaks Arabic, Dutch, English, French and German.

Ambassador Perera is a retired major general who had a distinguished career in Sri Lanka's Armed Forces.

The posting in Jakarta will be his second as an Ambassador. After his retirement from the Army, he was appointed as the Ambassador to Australia.

Few details were available about Ambassador Zaw Win at the Merdeka Palace. Efforts to reach the Myanmar Embassy by telephone did not succeeded in elucidating any information about the new ambassador.