23 Januray 2014- The ASEAN Ankara Committee (AAC) hosted a dinner to bid farewell to outgoing Malaysian Ambassador Dato Saipul Anwar Abd. Muin and to welcome Brunei Ambassador-designate Mohd Sarip Othman on January 08. As AAC Chairman, Philippine Ambassador to Turkey Maria Rowena Mendoza Sanchez, and Mr. Sanchez led the combined farewell and welcome dinner.
Other AAC Heads of Missions (HOMs), Deputy Chiefs of Mission and Special Working Group members attended the dinner: Indonesian Ambassador Nahari Agustini; Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen The Cuong; Thai Ambassador Tharit Charungvat and spouse; Mr. Darrell Leong Binghui, Charge d’Affaires, a.i., Singapore; Mr. Robert Ferrer, First Secretary and Consul General and Ms. Leilani S. Feliciano, Second Secretary and Consul, Philippines; Mr. Muhammad Ichsan, First Secretary, Indonesia; Ms. Rafidawati Ahmad, First Secretary, Malaysia; Mr. Somphong Kangthong, Minister Counsellor, Thailand; and Ms. Osfinita Tahir, Second Secretary, Brunei Darussalam.
Ambassador Sanchez expressed her appreciation to Ambassador Saipul who was in Ankara for seven years, for his leadership and his advice to all new ASEAN ambassadors. All ASEAN HOMs delivered short speeches reminiscing their working and social times with Ambassador Saipul They also formally welcomed Ambassador Othman to the ASEAN Ankara Committee family.
The Philippine Ambassador expressed her gratitude to AAC members for their valuable cooperation and support in all the AAC activities which were organized successfully during the Philippines Chairmanship in 2013. She also noted that the AAC Chairmanship will be turned over to Singapore with a simple turnover ceremony and working lunch to be hosted by the Philippine Embassy in the end of the month.
Ambassador Saipul thanked AAC members for their cooperation during AAC activities organized during the Malaysian Chairmanship of the AAC in 2012 and congratulated the Philippines for a productive and successful Chairmanship in 2013. He expressed keen desire that AAC, under Singapore’s Chairmanship in 2014, will achieve more activities that will enhance the image of ASEAN in Turkey.
The AAC presented a special gift of an intricately-designed Turkish shoeshine box to the outgoing ambassador. END