NORWAY ENVOY. President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. receives the credentials of newly appointed Norwegian Ambassador to the Philippines Christian Halaas Lyster at the Malacañan Palace on Thursday (Oct. 13, 2022). Marcos also received the credentials of three new diplomats from Denmark, Turkey, and Spain. (Photo from PBBM Facebook page)
MANILA – President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. on Thursday received the credentials of four new diplomats from Norway, Denmark, Turkey, and Spain.
Marcos shared on his Facebook page several photos of the ceremony on the presentation of credentials of the four newly-appointed ambassadors to the Philippines at Malacañan Palace in Manila.
Ambassadors Christian Halaas Lyster (Norway), Franz-Michael Skjold Mellbin (Denmark), Niyazi Evren Akyol (Turkey), and Miguel Utray (Spain) signed the Palace guest book and had a separate meeting with Marcos, based on the photos uploaded on Facebook.
During the presentation of credentials, Akyol conveyed to Marcos the Turkish government's commitment in supporting the Philippines' peace process in Mindanao, state-run Radio Television Malacañang (RTVM) said in a separate Facebook post.
RTVM said Utray also assured Marcos of Spain's continued cooperation with the Philippines in different areas of mutual interest such as international security, health, and food security.
Before his new post, Lyster served as Norway's deputy director general for security at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was also stationed in different countries, including Denmark and Malaysia.
Mellbin, meanwhile previously served as Danish ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, permanent representative to the International Renewable Energy Agency, and commissioner general for Denmark at EXPO 2020.
In September, the Royal Danish Embassy expressed optimism that Denmark's relationship with the Philippines will further improve under the leadership of Mellbin.
Akyol also served as consul general in Bulgaria, as well as Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs' head of Department at the Directorate General for Energy and Multilateral and deputy director-general for Southeast Asia and Pacific Region.
Utray, on the other hand, will also concurrently serve as ambassador to Palau, Marshall Islands and Micronesia.
Utray has been a member of the Spanish diplomatic corps since 1990, serving diplomatic missions in Mexico, Africa, Honduras, Turkey, Australia and Scotland. He was also a director of International Relations at Instituto Cervantes. (PNA)
