Presentation of Credentials, 29 September 2020

The following foreign Heads of Mission presented their credentials to President Halimah Yacob in separate ceremonies at the Istana today:

(a) The Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany

His Excellency Dr Norbert Riedel

(b) The Ambassador of the Republic of Chile

His Excellency Ignacio Concha

(c) The High Commissioner of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh

His Excellency Md Tauhedul Islam

(d) The High Commissioner of Brunei Darussalam

His Excellency Dato Paduka Haji Sidek bin Ali

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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

SINGAPORE 

29 SEPTEMBER 2020

DR NORBERT RIEDEL

AMBASSADOR TO THE REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE

FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY

Ambassador Dr Norbert Riedel was the German Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein from 2017 to 2020. He studied law in Wuerzburg and Caen and graduated as a Doctor of Laws in 1989. Since 2005 he has held an honorary professorship at the University of Wuerzburg. 

Dr Riedel joined the Federal Foreign Office in 1991. His postings abroad include Sofia, Bulgaria and Lisbon, Portugal. From 2010 to 2014 he represented the Federal Republic of Germany as Minister and Permanent Representative (and temporarily as Chargé d’Affaires) in Beijing, China. 

Among others Dr Riedel was Head of European Policy Division at the Federal Chancellery in Berlin, Ambassador and Commissioner for International Cyber Policy, Ambassador and regional Director for Asia. 

Dr Riedel is married and has two children.

[Photo Credit: Ministry of Communications and Information]

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IGNACIO CONCHA

AMBASSADOR TO THE REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE

REPUBLIC OF CHILE

Ambassador Ignacio Concha was previously the Consul General of Chile in Shanghai, China from 2017 to 2020. He graduated from the Diplomatic School of Spain and the Diplomatic Academy of Chile. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Universidad Rafael Landivar (Guatemala). 

A career diplomat, Concha has served in the Embassies of Chile in Argentina, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Spain and Venezuela, and the Permanent Mission of Chile to the United Nations (New York). Concha also served as Consul General of Chile in New York, Melbourne, Sydney and Gothenburg.

He is married to Mrs Blanca Andrade. 

[Photo Credit: Ministry of Communications and Information]

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MD TAUHEDUL ISLAM

HIGH COMMISSIONER TO THE REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE

PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF BANGLADESH

High Commissioner Md Tauhedul Islam is a career diplomat. He joined the Bangladesh Foreign Service after securing first place in the country’s civil service examination in 1998.

High Commissioner Islam’s last appointment was in Kunming, China as Consul General of Bangladesh. Prior to that, he served as a Director-General in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2015 to 2016, and as Consul General of Bangladesh in Milan, Italy from 2013 to 2014. He also served as a Counsellor in the Permanent Mission of Bangladesh to the United Nations in New York from 2009 to 2013, during which he was elected as the Vice Chairman of the Second Committee of the 67^th United Nations General Assembly.

[Photo Credit: Ministry of Communications and Information]

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DATO PADUKA HAJI SIDEK BIN ALI

HIGH COMMISSIONER TO THE REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE

BRUNEI DARUSSALAM

His Excellency Dato Paduka Haji Sidek bin Ali has been a career diplomat for nearly 40 years. In that time, he has served in a number of posts in Brunei Darussalam and in its various missions overseas.

His Excellency began his career in the Brunei Civil Service as an Education Officer at the Ministry of Education in 1979. He joined the Diplomatic Service Department in 1981, which became the Ministry of Foreign Affairs when Brunei Darussalam assumed independence in 1984. His Excellency served in the Embassy of Brunei Darussalam in the Republic of Indonesia between 1997 and 1999. He was appointed as the Ambassador of Brunei Darussalam to the Lao People's Democratic Republic between 2006 and 2008, and as the High Commissioner of Brunei Darussalam to the Republic of India from 2008 to 2020. His Excellency was also the Non-Resident High Commissioner of Brunei Darussalam to Sri Lanka and Non-Resident Ambassador of Brunei Darussalam to Nepal during his time in India.

His Excellency has received a number of awards and medals throughout his career including the Darjah Seri Paduka Mahkota Brunei, Darjah Ketiga (SMB), the Darjah Seri Paduka Mahkota Brunei, Darjah Kedua (DPMB), the Pingat Indah Kerja Baik (PIKB), the Pingat Kerja Lama (PKL) and the Friendship Medal (Lao PDR).

His Excellency is married to Datin Mariaratnah binti Haji Mohd Apong and they have been blessed with 5 children. 

[Photo Credit: Ministry of Communications and Information]

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