EU picks Belgians as ambassadors to Cambodia, Indonesia and Lebanon

Three Belgians have been named as the European Union's new ambassadors to Cambodia, Indonesia and Lebanon. Josep Borrell, the High Representative for European Foreign Policy, announced this on Thursday.

The new ambassadors are Igor Driesmans (Cambodia), Denis Chaibi (Indonesia) and Sandra De Waele (Lebanon). Borrell also announced the names of 40 other EU ambassadors around the world. The appointments are part of the 2023 diplomacy campaign within the European External Action Service (EEAS), the EU's diplomatic service.

Driesmans has previously been EU envoy to Myanmar and ambassador in the Indonesian capital Jakarta. Chaibi has been appointed EU ambassador to Indonesia and the Sultanate of Brunei. He currently holds the post in Sri Lanka and the Maldives. De Waele will be the EU's ambassador to Lebanon. She was previously head of the EEAS sanctions unit.

German diplomat Dietrich Becker will become ambassador to Mali, succeeding Belgian Bart Ouvry, who has been in Bamako since 2019. Ouvry will soon leave the diplomatic service to become director if the Royal Museum for Central Africa in Tervuren near Brussels.

^{© BELGA PHOTO HERWIG VERGULT}