By Kartika Rahman & Azrol Azmi
His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam yesterday consented to receive credentials from four newly-appointed non-resident foreign envoys to Brunei Darussalam, at the Istana Nurul Iman. They are Ms Guisse Maimouna Dial of the Republic of Mali; Dr Milan Lajciak of the Slovak Republic; Mr Marc Calcoen of Belgium; and Mr Mustafa Mujezinovic of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
His Majesty first consented to grant audience to Ms Guisse Maimouna Dial, currently Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Mali based in Tokyo. A landlocked country in West Africa, Mali shares borders with seven other countries, with 80 per cent of its population Muslims.
His Majesty then consented to grant audience to Dr Milan Lajciak, currently Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Slovak Republic based in Kuala Lumpur.
Having come into existence on January 1, 1993, the Slovak Republic is home to a population of over 5 million.
His Majesty later consented to grant audience to Mr Marc Calcoen, currently Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belgium based in Singapore. Situated between France and Holland and often called the Essence of Europe, Belgium is both multicultural and multilingual.
His Majesty lastly consented to grant audience to Mr Mustafa Mujezinovic, currently Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, also based in Kuala Lumpur. The majority Muslim country is also an emerging democracy, with a rotating, tripartite presidency divided among predominantly Serb, Croatian, and Bosnian political parties.
In a separate event, His Royal Highness Prince Mohamed Bolkiah, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, also received the four envoys at the Balai Penhadapan, Bukit Kayangan, where His Royal Highness welcomed the envoys and discussed bilateral matters with them.
- Borneo Bulletin
(24th Nov 2006)
