His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam yesterday consented to present Letters of Credentials to newly-appointed Brunei envoys and received Letters of Credentials from three foreign envoys at Istana Nurul Iman.

His Majesty first presented Letters of Credentials to Pehin Datu Inderasugara Brigadier General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Haji Mohammad Yusof bin Abu Bakar, Brunei's Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany.

This was followed by the presentation of Letters of Credentials to: Pengiran Dato Paduka Haji Abdul Hamid bin Pengiran Haji Mohammad Yasin, Brunei's Ambassador to the Union of Myanmar; Dato Paduka Haji Kamis bin Haji Tamin, Brunei's Ambassador to the Kingdom of Thailand; and, Dr Haji Emran bin Bahar, Brunei's Ambassador to the Russian Federation.

His Majesty later received Letters of Credentials from three newly-appointed non-resident envoys to the country, namely Carlos Alfredo Amores Balbin of the Republic of Cuba, Vibeke Rovsing Lauritzen of Denmark and Purevjav Gansukh of Mongolia.

Following the ceremony, His Majesty consented to grant an audience to the four new Brunei envoys.

Pehin Datu Inderasugara Brigadier General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Haji Mohammad Yusof bin Abu Bakar, 59, Brunei's Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany, previously served as Brunei's Ambassador to the Union of Myanmar.

Prior to his appointment as Brunei's Ambassador to the Union of Myanmar, Pengiran Dato Paduka Haji Abdul Hamid bin Pengiran Haji Mohammad Yassin, 54, held the post of Senior Special Duties Officer at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade.

Brunei's Ambassador to Thailand, Dato Paduka Haji Kamis bin Haji Tamin, 57, formerly held the post of Permanent Secretary at the Prime Minister's Office.

Prior to his appointment as Brunei's Ambassador to the Russian Federation, Dr Haji Emran bin Bahar, 47, held the post of Deputy Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Defence.

His Majesty later granted separate audiences to the newly appointed non-resident envoys from Cuba, Denmark and Mongolia.

Carlos Alfredo Amores Balbin, 42, the Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba to Brunei, is concurrently the Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba to Malaysia.

Mongolia's Ambassador to Brunei, Purevjov Gansukh, 51, is concurrently the Ambassador to Singapore.

The Ambassador of Denmark to Brunei, Vibeke Rovsing Lauritzen, 44, also serves as the Ambassador to Singapore. - Borneo Bulletin (11th Feb 2009)