DRC : Presentation of credentials to President Félix Tshisekedi
A few days after the confirmation of his re-election by the Constitutional Court, President Félix Tshisekedi Tshilombo received, on Thursday, January 11, 2024, the credentials of four new extraordinary and plenipotentiary ambassadors accredited to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
These diplomats presented their credentials to the head of state during a ceremony organized at the Palace of the Nation. The ambassadors are Nicolas Berlanga Martinez, multilateral ambassador of the European Union (EU), Ogawa Hidetoshi from Japan, Antonios Papadopoulos from Greece, and Jeong Hong Geun from South Korea.
Nicolas Berlanga Martinez is the multilateral representative of the European Union (EU). He was the Principal Coordinator of the EU for maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea. Previously, he served as the EU ambassador to Somalia and Togo and worked as a counselor and chief of cooperation within the EU delegation to Cameroon.
Among the other three diplomats are bilateral representatives. Ogawa Hidetoshi from Japan has served successively as a minister, deputy chief of mission at the Embassy of Japan in Belgium, and the mission of Japan to NATO. He has also been an advisor to the cabinet secretariat and director of international strategy at the National Center for Incident Readiness and Strategy for Cybersecurity, as well as Director of Information and Communication at the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Antonios Papadopoulos, born in Bunia (Northeast, DRC), is the ambassador of Greece. He was the Director of the Directorate of Bilateral Economic Relations with countries in Southeast Europe. He has also been the first counselor at the Permanent Representation of Greece to the EU. Antonios Papadopoulos has also served as the first counselor-chief of mission adjoint and Consul at the Embassy of Greece in Kiev, Ukraine.
The last ambassador, Jeong Hong Geun, is from South Korea. He was the minister and consul general at the Embassy of Korea in the United Kingdom. He has also held the position of director-general of international cooperation at the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs and the Principal Coordinator of Foreign Affairs at the Government Policy Coordination Office.
