America’s Anjani Sinha among four envoys to assume office in S’pore

The new US Ambassador to Singapore, Dr Anjani Sinha, was among four foreign envoys who presented their credentials to President Tharman Shanmugaratnam on Nov 17 —an act that allows them to formally assume office here.

- Kok Yufeng Correspondent

Apart from Dr Sinha, the others who called on President Tharman at the Istana in separate ceremonies were:

* Mr Artis Bertulis, the European Union’s new ambassador to the Republic;

* Mr Paul Thoppil, Canada’s new High Commissioner to Singapore, who is concurrently its Indo-Pacific trade representative; and

* Mr Innocent Bagamba Muhizi, Rwanda’s new High Commissioner to Singapore.

Dr Sinha, who was previously an orthopaedic surgeon, arrived in Singapore on Nov 6 to begin his tenure.

Hailing from US President Donald Trump’s home state of Florida and said to be close to the Trump family, he was confirmed by the US Senate in October in a vote for a group of more than 100 nominees that ended in a 51-47 simple majority.

In a Facebook post on Nov 17 by the US Embassy, Dr Sinha was quoted as saying he looks forward to “deepening the mutual respect which will anchor US-Singapore ties in the years ahead”.