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

His Majesty first presented the Letter of Credentials to Muharram bin Piah, as Brunei Darussalam's Ambassador to the Sultanate of Oman.

This was followed by Alias bin Serbini as Brunei's Ambassador to Japan.

His Majesty then received the Letters of Credentials from three newly appointed foreign envoys to the country: Mr Wendell J Sanford, the new High Commissioner of Canada to Brunei; Mr M Shameem Ahsan, the new High Commissioner of the People's Republic of Bangladesh; and Dr Viktor Mashtabei, the new Ambassador of the Republic of Ukraine to Brunei.

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

Brunei's Ambassador to the Sultanate of Oman, Muharram bin Piah, 61, began his service at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in 1982 and previously served as Brunei Darussalam's Ambassador to Egypt.

Meanwhile, Alias bin Serbini, 48, was the Director of the Department of Economic Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, prior to his appointment as the Ambassador to Japan.

Soon after that, His Majesty granted separate audiences to the newly appointed foreign envoys from Canada, the People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Republic of Ukraine.

The new High Commissioner of Canada to Brunei, Mr Wendell J Sanford, 61, previously served as the Director of the Oceans and Environmental Law Division at the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of Canada before his appointment as the High Commissioner of Canada to Brunei.

Mr M Shameem Ahsan, 49, is the new High Commissioner of the People's Republic of Bangladesh to Brunei and was formerly the Ambassador of the People's Republic of Bangladesh to Iran.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's non-resident Ambassador to Brunei, Dr Viktor Mashtabei, 64, is currently serving as Ukraine's Ambassador to Singapore. - Borneo Bulletin (11th Jan 2009)