Portugal names senior diplomat as new envoy to RI

Veeramalla Anjaiah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | World | Thu, April 04 2013, 7:36 PM

Portugal has named one of its senior diplomats, Joaquim Moreira de Lemos, as its new ambassador to Indonesia, which is home to Southeast Asia’s largest economy, says a Portuguese diplomat.

According to the Portuguese Embassy’s deputy chief of mission, Carla Santana Castelo, Ambassador-designate Lemos arrived in Jakarta on March 19 and would submit his credentials to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono soon.

Jakarta, in fact, is not new to Ambassador Lemos.

“In 2007, he visited Jakarta to attend a European Union Meeting. Since then, he expressed interest in being posted in Jakarta. Finally, the dream came true,” Carla told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

During his 26-year-long diplomatic career, Lemos has worked in Brazil, Spain, France and China in various positions at Portuguese diplomatic missions. Prior to coming to Jakarta, Lemos was the Portuguese Consulate-General in Shanghai, China.

Portugal, a Southwestern European country on the Iberian Peninsula, and Indonesia have more than five centuries of historical relations. What will be Lemos’ main mission in Indonesia?

“Ambassador Lemos will focus on economic and trade issues to create a more business- driven dimension to Portugal’s five-century-long relations with Indonesia,” Carla said.