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Permanent Mission of the Republic of Singapore to ASEAN
Press Statements and Speeches

Presentation of Credentials, 29 March 2018

29 March 2018

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MFA Press Statement: Presentation of Credentials, 29 March 2018

29 March 2018

The following foreign Heads of Mission presented their credentials to President Halimah Yacob in separate ceremonies at the Istana today

(a)              The Ambassador of the Hellenic Republic (Greece)
                  Her Excellency Constantina Koliou

(b)             The Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China
                 His Excellency Hong Xiaoyong (洪小勇)

(c)              The Ambassador of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
                  Her Excellency Tao Thi Thanh Huong

Their bio summaries are appended.   

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
SINGAPORE 

29 MARCH 2018

==============

Two-panel view: Women in business attire, one in a hijab, meeting with Singaporean military honor guard.

(Photo Credit: MCI)                                                    
                                                    CONSTANTINA KOLIOU
                                                AMBASSADOR TO SINGAPORE
                                                HELLENIC REPUBLIC (GREECE)

Prior to her appointment as Ambassador to Singapore, Ms Constantina Koliou served as Director General for Personnel, Administrative Organisation and Financial Administration at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in Athens. Ms Koliou had previously served as Greece’s Ambassador to the Philippines. Ms Koliou joined the diplomatic service in 1983. In Athens, she served as the Director General for International Economic Affairs, Director of the Diplomatic Cabinet of the Secretary General for Greeks Abroad and Head of the United Nations Desk, International Organisations Department at the Greek MFA. She was posted to Rome, Rio de Janeiro, Beijing and Hong Kong. She was also seconded to the international secretariat of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation from 2005 to 2007. Ms Koliou was awarded the Grand Commander of the Order of the Phoenix in 2012. Ms Koliou graduated from the University of Athens with degrees in Law and Political Sciences. She is fluent in six languages.

Two side-by-side photos showing Halimah Yacob with officials in formal settings.

(Photo Credit: MCI)
                                                       HONG XIAOYONG
                                               AMBASSADOR TO SINGAPORE
                                               PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

H.E. Hong Xiaoyong was born in March 1961. He joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of the People’s Republic of China in 1984 after graduating from Peking University. As a career diplomat, Mr. Hong worked as, among his many posts, Second Secretary in the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Japan, Division Director of the Department of Asian Affairs in the MFA, Counsellor in the Permanent Mission of the People's Republic of China to the United Nations, Minister Counsellor (DCM) of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Republic of Singapore, Deputy Director-General of the General Office of the MFA, Deputy Commissioner of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to the Socialist
Republic of Vietnam.

Two images showing Singaporean president Halimah Yacob meeting Vietnamese president Võ Thị Ánh Xuân.

(Photo Credit: MCI)                                                        
                                                    TAO THI THANH HUONG
                                                 AMBASSADOR TO SINGAPORE
                                              SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM

Mrs. Tao Thi Thanh Huong is a career diplomat. Prior to her appointment as Ambassador of Vietnam to Singapore – Vietnam’s first female Ambassador to Singapore. She served as the Director-General, President of the Trade Union and Director General of Ministry of Foreign Affairs from July 2014 to February 2018. Mrs. Tao Thi Thanh Huong joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1991. She held various portfolios in the Department for Southeast Asia, South Asia and South Pacific, in the Ministry’s Office and in the Personnel Department. She was the Vice Chairwoman of ASEAN Ladies Circle in Hanoi. She also served as Attache at the Vietnam Embassy in Malaysia and Deputy Chief of the Mission at the Vietnam Embassy in the United Kingdom. Mrs. Tao Thi Thanh Huong graduated with 
Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam in 1989. She got a Master of Arts in International Relations from SAIS, Johns Hopkins University, USA and a Master of International Business from the University of East Anglia, UK in 2002 and 2012 respectively. She is married with two sons.