Presentation of Credentials Ceremony, 12 August 2026

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

(a) The Ambassador of the State of Israel

His Excellency Yahel Vilan

(b) The Ambassador of Switzerland

Her Excellency Alexandra Baumann

(c) The High Commissioner of the Republic of Kenya

His Excellency Abdirashid Salat Abdille

Their bio summaries are attached.

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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

SINGAPORE

12 AUGUST 2026

Ambassador Yahel Vilan began his career with the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1995, serving as Second Secretary in the North-East Asia Department. His first overseas postings included serving as Chargé d’Affairẻs at the Embassy of Israel in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, followed by appointments in Hanoi, Vietnam, where he served as Chargé d’Affairẻs and later as First Secretary.

In 2001, Ambassador Vilan was appointed Consul of Public Affairs at the Consulate General of Israel in New York. He subsequently returned to the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters to serve in the Palestinian Affairs Department and later in the North-East Asia Department. He then held senior diplomatic postings as Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassies of Israel in Budapest, Hungary, and Warsaw, Poland.

In 2010, Ambassador Vilan returned to the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters as Deputy Director of the Export Control Department. In 2011, he was appointed as Deputy Chief of Mission at the Israeli Embassy in New Delhi, India, and in 2015, he was appointed Ambassador of Israel to Kenya, and non-resident Ambassador to Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi, and Seychelles. Upon completion of his term, he served as Director of the East and Southern Africa Department at the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

From 2020 to 2024, Ambassador Vilan served as Ambassador of Israel to the Republic of Serbia, and non-resident Ambassador to Montenegro. He was later appointed Commissioner General of Israel for Expo 2025 in Osaka, and concurrently serves as Commissioner General of Israel for Expo 2027 in Belgrade.

Ambassador Yahel Vilan was born on 1 January 1968. He is married to Shiri and they have four children. He speaks Hebrew, English, and basic French.

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Prior to her appointment as Switzerland’s Ambassador to Singapore, Ambassador Alexandra Baumann was the Head of the Division for Prosperity and Sustainability at the Swiss Federal Department for Foreign Affairs (Foreign Ministry), where she was responsible for coordinating Switzerland’s foreign policy with other Swiss government ministries and oversaw matters relating to AI and new technologies. Bauman was also the Diplomatic Advisor to the Swiss Finance Minister from 2019 to 2022. Her other overseas postings include the Embassy of Switzerland in Berlin, Germany (2011-2016), and Permanent Mission to the UN in New York (2016-2019).

Ambassador Baumann holds a master’s degree in political science and communications from the University of Zurich. She is married and has two children.

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High Commissioner Abdirashid Salat Abdille serves as Ambassador of the Republic of Kenya to the Republic of Indonesia, with concurrent accreditation to the Republic of Singapore and the Republic of the Philippines. He presented his credentials to Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta on 10 June 2026.

Prior to his appointment, he served as Advisor on Political and Labour Relations to the Governor of Wajir County. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Public Administration and Political Science and a Diploma in International Studies from the University of Nairobi, in addition to professional qualifications from the International Labour Organization (ILO) Training Centre in Turin, Italy, and the Kenya School of Government.

High Commissioner Abdille has over four decades of distinguished public service in governance, labour administration, industrial relations, and diplomacy. His career has included senior leadership positions in Kenya's Ministry of Labour, the Kenya Ports Authority, the Income Tax Tribunal, and several national statutory boards and councils. He has also represented Kenya at numerous regional and international conferences on labour administration, including the International Labour Conference in Geneva.

He is a Muslim and married.

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