Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Tuesday received the credentials of the new ambassadors of Germany, Vietnam, and Nepal upon the assumption of their diplomatic duties in Israel.
The incoming ambassadors were welcomed by the IDF Band playing their respective national anthems and an IDF honor guard, after which they presented their letters of credence to the President in the Great Hall of the President’s Residence in Jerusalem. The President held an audience with each ambassador, after which the ambassadors signed the guest book. At the end of each ceremony, the Israeli national anthem was played.
The first ambassador to present his letter of credence was the Ambassador of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, H.E. Ly Duc Trung, who has previously served as Vietnam's deputy ambassador to Spain and as a deputy director-general in the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Vietnamese ambassador arrived wearing cerulean-colored national dress, which was especially designed for Tuesday’s ceremony.
The President and the Vietnamese ambassador discussed their nations’ histories, as Israel and Vietnam prepare to mark 30 years of diplomatic relations. The President expressed his desire to expand Israeli-Vietnamese collaboration in the fields of trade, agriculture, innovation, and more.
The second ambassador to present his letter of credence was the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany, H.E. Steffen Seibert, who most recently served as the German Federal Government’s spokesman under Chancellor Angela Merkel.
President Herzog praised the positive direction of Israeli-German relations, noting the many visits by German leaders to Israel over the past year. The President noted the deep significance of the arrival of a new German ambassador in the Jewish state, adding that while both nations must always remember the past, they must also look toward the future together. After the ceremony, President Herzog and the First Lady showed the ambassador and his wife the artwork in the Great Hall, pointing out the ceiling mural panels by Holocaust-survivor Naftali Bezem, which tell the story of the artist’s family’s escape from Nazi Germany.
The third and final ambassador to present her letter of credence was the Ambassador of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, H.E. Kanta Rizal. The Nepalese ambassador arrived wearing a traditional sari and greeted the President with rehearsed remarks in Hebrew, saying that she hoped to work together with him to strengthen and develop the friendly relations between Israel and Nepal.
The President expressed his hopes to expand Israeli-Nepalese cooperation, with an emphasis on agriculture, tourism, innovation, and more. At the end, the Nepalese ambassador extended an invitation to President Herzog to visit Nepal.
