JAKARTA, 2 October 2013 – H.E. Tan Hung Seng presented his letter of credentials as the new Permanent Representative of the Republic of Singapore to ASEAN to the Secretary-General of ASEAN, H.E. Le Luong Minh, at a ceremony held at the ASEAN Secretariat yesterday.
Ambassador Tan reiterated to the Secretary-General that Singapore stands ready to support the ASEAN Secretariat in the performance of its duties and functions towards the goal of achieving the ASEAN Community 2015 and moving ASEAN forward beyond 2015. Secretary-General Minh meanwhile emphasized that ASEAN is at a very critical stage in the community building process with on-going progress in the implementation of the three Blueprints. Secretary-General Minh highlighted the role of the Committee of Permanent Representatives to ASEAN (CPR) as well as the importance of close collaboration between the CPR and the ASEAN Secretariat in this process. Secretary-General Minh therefore looked forward to working closely with Ambassador Tan under the framework of the CPR.
Prior to his appointment, Ambassador Tan was the Ambassador of Singapore to the Arab Republic of Egypt, with concurrent accreditations to the State of Libya from July 2009 to July 2013 and the State of Kuwait until October 2012.
Ambassador Tan succeeded Ambassador Lim Thuan Kuan, who completed his posting in July 2013. Ambassador Tan is Singapore’s second Permanent Representative to ASEAN since the establishment of the CPR in 2009.
Each ASEAN Member State appoints a Permanent Representative to ASEAN with the rank of Ambassador based in Jakarta. The Permanent Representatives collectively constitute a Committee of Permanent Representatives (CPR), which facilitates the work of the ASEAN Community Councils, National Secretariats, Sectoral Ministerial Bodies, the Secretary-General of ASEAN and the ASEAN Secretariat, and ASEAN cooperation with external partners.
The ceremony was attended by three Deputy Secretaries-General of ASEAN (DSGs), namely H.E. Nyan Lynn, H.E. Lim Hong Hin and H.E. A.K.P. Mochtan.