S. African envoy submits credentials

TIMOR LESTE: South Africa's Ambassador to Indonesia Griffiths Mandlenkosi Memela on Wednesday presented his credentials to Timor Leste President Xanana Gusmao in Dili, an official at the South African Embassy in Jakarta said.

"Today, the Ambassador submitted his credentials as the first diplomatic representative of South Africa to Timor Leste," embassy counsel Michael Membukwe told The Jakarta Post from Dili.

South Africa established diplomatic relations with Timor Leste on Feb. 3 last year.

Memela, who is based in Jakarta, is South Africa's first non- resident ambassador to Timor Leste.

Timor Leste, a former Indonesian province, separated from Indonesia and became an independent nation in 2002. -- JP