28 June 2006
Media release

Pakistani, Chilean and Spanish envoys present credentials

The High Commissioner of Pakistan and Ambassadors from Chile and Spain will present credentials to the Governor-General, Dame Silvia Cartwright, at Government House tomorrow (29 June, 11.20am).

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan is to establish a new High Commission in Wellington (previously Pakistan was cross-accredited to New Zealand from Canberra.) The new resident High Commissioner of Pakistan is Mr Munawar Saeed Bhatti. Mr Bhatti has served in Dubai, Bangladesh, New York and most recently in India.

The Embassy of Spain will also be establishing a mission in New Zealand, having previously cross-accredited to New Zealand from Canberra. The new Ambassador, Mr Camilo Barcia Garcia-Villamil, has served as Ambassador of Spain to the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Japan, the European Communities in Brussels, Sweden and Latvia. His most recent posting was as Consul-General of Spain in San Francisco.

The Republic of Chile’s new Ambassador is Mr Luis Fernando Lillo Benavides. Mr Lillo joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chile in 1970, and has held positions at Chilean posts in the Dominican Republic, Canada (Ottawa and Toronto), New York (UN), Sweden, Mexico, Argentina (Bariloche), and Geneva (UN – Alternate Permanent Representative, Humanitarian and Social Affairs). From 2000 to 2004 he was Ambassador of Chile to Syria and most recently he was Director of the Asia-Pacific Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chile.

All are based in Wellington.

ENDS

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