The last new diplomats for 2023, including Ian Mak of Singapore, Shpend Sadiku of North Macedonia, and Veronica Abad of Ecuador, presented their credentials to President Isaac Herzog on Monday.
The trio are among 16 new ambassadors who have presented their letters of credence since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war.
Singapore sends first resident ambassador to Israel
Mak made history as Singapore’s first resident ambassador to Israel although the two countries have had close diplomatic relations since Singapore gained independence in August 1965, and Israel is a major supplier of arms to Singapore.
Mak said that he was honored and pleased to be taking up his position at a time when Singapore could demonstrate its solidarity with Israel.
Singapore unequivocally condemns Hamas, the massacre on October 7, demands the immediate release of all the hostages from Gaza and supports Israel’s right to defend itself. Singapore also supports international efforts for a just and sustainable peace in the Middle East.
Mak and Herzog discussed Israel’s economic assistance to Singapore in its early years.
They also spoke of the visit to Singapore in November 1986 by Herzog’s father, President Chaim Herzog, and his meeting then with Singapore’s legendary founding prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew.
Sadiku of North Macedonia was previously posted to London. Abad is also Ecuador’s vice president, and, like Herzog, she has three sons who accompanied her to the ceremony, which differs from the norm.
As a rule, the president greets the new ambassador in the main hall and, after receiving the letter of credence and letter of recall of the ambassador’s predecessor, introduces the new envoy to the senior members of his staff, and the ambassador in turn, introduces the president to his or her senior staff and to accompanying family members.
Then, they all enter a more intimate reception room where the president and the ambassador chat, pose for photos, drink a toast, write an inscription in the guest book, and then part company until they meet again on some other diplomatic occasion.
At this time of year, the president traditionally hosts a Christmas-New Year reception for the foreign diplomatic corps. But this year, with Israel at war, he decided after a small reception to hold briefings which Herzog and the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories’ civil department head, Col. Elad Goren, gave to all the ambassadors currently stationed in Israel.
This meant that the presentation ceremonies were held in the small reception room, standing, with minimal conversation and no introductions. Goren’s briefing was mainly devoted to explaining the lengths to which Israel has gone to protect innocent civilians in Gaza, where thousands of deaths reported by the Hamas-run Health Ministry have withdrawn much sympathy from Israel abroad.