President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, received the credentials of four new ambassadors accredited to Lebanon.
The Ambassadors are: Australian Ambassador, Andrew Barnes, Pakistani Ambassador, Salman Athar, Spanish Ambassador, Jesus Ignacio Santos Aguado, and Qatari Ambassador, Ibrahim bin Abdul Aziz Mohammed Saleh Al-Sahlawi.
Official ceremonies were held, in the presence of Foreign Affairs Minister, Abdullah Bou Habib, theSecretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Hani Shmeitli, Director General of Protocols at the Presidential Palace, Dr. Nabil Shedid, and the Director of Protocols at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mrs. Abeer Ali.
The army music played the anthem of the country represented by each ambassador, while flags were hoisted on the mast of the Presidential Palace alongside the Lebanese flag.
Then, each ambassador saluted the flag, before entering the October 22 Salon amidst two rows of spears, and from there to the Ambassadors’ Salon, where he presented his credentials to President Aoun and the members of his diplomatic mission.The ambassadors conveyed the greetings of their heads of state, and wished the President success in his national responsibilities, assuring him to work to strengthen relations between Lebanon and their countries.
For his part, the President conveyed his greetings to the ambassadors to their heads of state, stressing in return Lebanon’s keenness to strengthen relations with their brotherly and friendly countries for the benefit of Lebanon. President Aoun also wished the new ambassadors success in their new duties.
Biographies:
Australian Ambassador, Andrew Barnes:
-Born in 1963.
-Holds a degree in art from the Australian National University, and a postgraduate degree from Stockholm University
– Worked in the Australian Foreign Affairs and Trade Department, and fluctuated in several positions.
-Assumed the position of Deputy Head of the Australian Mission in Hanoi, High Commissioner in Ghana, Director of the South, Central and West Africa Department, Director of the Counter-Terrorism Cooperation Department, and Exchange Officer at the Canadian Embassy, European branch, Environmental branch.
-Served as First Secretary at the Australian Embassy in Stockholm.
Pakistani Ambassador, Salman Athar:
-Born in 1971.
-Holds a degree in electrical engineering and law.
-Joined the Pakistani Foreign Service in 2002.
-Assumed the position of Assistant Director at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and rose to the position of Director and then to the position of Director General.
– Assumed several diplomatic missions outside his country in: Abu Dhabi, Singapore, and the Sultanate of Oman.
Spanish Ambassador, Jesus Ignacio Santos Aguado:
-Born in 1956.
-Holds a medical degree, and a doctorate in medicine and surgery.
-Member of the Spanish diplomatic corps since 1992 and has held many diplomatic positions and tasks, including: Deputy Head of Mission at the Spanish Embassy in Canberra, Malabo, Abidjan, Greece and Beirut, and Spain’s ambassador to Guinea and Mauritania.
-Assumed the position of the Community Countries Area Officer, and the Assistant Director-General for the Candidate Countries and the European Economic Space.
-Worked as an advisory member of the support unit in Morocco, and an ambassador with a special mission for the “Covid-19” epidemic and public health.
-Holds many decorations from Spain and abroad, most notably: the Isabel the Catholic Order of Knight and Commander, the Spanish Order of Merit, the Order of the Sun at the rank of Commander from Peru, and the National Order of Merit at the rank of Commander from Guinea.
Qatari Ambassador, Ibrahim Abdel Aziz Mohammed Saleh Al-Sahlawi:
– Born in 1952.
– Received a BA in Arabic and Islamic Studies from Cairo University
– Entered the diplomatic corps in 1977.
-Worked in the general office of the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and in the Qatari embassy in Tunisia, and then became Qatar’s delegate to the Arab Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization.
-Moved to work at the Embassy of Qatar in London and head of the Press and Information Department, then Chargé d’Affairs of Qatar’s Embassy in Damascus, and Director of Arab Affairs in the Qatari Foreign Ministry, then became Director of the Department of Arab Affairs.
-Appointed as Qatari Ambassador to Algeria, and Qatar’s permanent representative to the Arab League.
Source: National News Agency