H.E. Mr. Sithong CHITNHOTHINH has assumed the post of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Lao People's Democratic Republic to the Federal Republic of Germany since 4th March 2015. He obtained his Bachelor’s Degree of Hungarian Language and Literature in Hungary in 1985, then attending short term and long term training in various fields in Laos and abroad. He had served as Third Secretary at the Embassy of the Lao PDR in Warsaw from 1991–1993 and concurrently was Charge’ d’ Affair a.i from 1992-1993. In 1994, he was appointed as Acting Director of European Division and then was promoted as Director of South- East Asia-Pacific and ASEAN Division. From 1995–1999,
he was posted as First Secretary and Deputy Chief of Mission of the Embassy of the Lao PDR in Bangkok. From 1999–2001, he was appointed as Deputy Director General of Asia-Pacific and Africa Department and from 2002, he was promoted as Director General at the same department of MOFA. From 2007-2012, he assumed his post as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Lao PDR to Japan. From 2012-2014, he was appointed as MOFA Spokesman, Director General of Press Department. He has been working to promote the relationships between Laos and Germany in different aspects in particular of economic, trade, investment, education, culture and tourism.

Dr. Martin Ney begann seine Diplomatenlaufbahn 1986 im Grundsatzreferat Völkerrecht des Auswärtigen Amts. Bei den 2+4-Verhandlungen war er der Rechtsberater auf westdeutscher Seite, dann Persönlicher Referent des Staatssekretärs des Auswärtigen Amts. Außerdem arbeitete er an den Botschaften Bangkok, Washington und Tokyo sowie als Stellvertretender Hoher Repräsentant für Bosnien-Herzegowina in Sarajewo. Nach Verwendungen als Koordinator für die Gemeinsame Außen- und Sicherheitspolitik der EU in der Politischen Abteilung sowie als Stellvertretender Abteilungsleiter für Globale Fragen im Auswärtigen Amt diente Dr. Ney als Botschafter und Stellvertretender Ständiger Vertreter Deutschlands bei den Vereinten Nationen in New York. Von 2012 bis Juni 2015 leitete er die Rechtsabteilung des Auswärtigen Amts und fungierte als Völkerrechtsberater der Bundesregierung. Seit Juli 2015 ist Dr. Ney Deutschlands Botschafter in Indien: „Indien ist derzeit das Schwellenland mit der dynamischsten Wirtschaftsentwicklung und verfügt über immenses Potenzial. Deutschland besitzt die Expertise, um Indien gerade in den für seine Entwicklung besonders relevanten Bereichen entscheidend voran-
zubringen. Das enorme beidseitige Interesse ist der Katalysator für die weitere Vertiefung der deutsch-indischen Partnerschaft.“

Marcus Schürmann ist seit Juli 2015 Delegierter der Deutschen Wirtschaft in Japan und Geschäftsführer der AHK Japan. Mit über 15 Jahren als stellvertretender Geschäftsführer und Leiter des Servicebereichs DEinternational der Organisation und zehn Jahren Erfahrung bei zwei mittelständischen deutschen Unternehmen in Japan, gilt Marcus Schürmann als ausge-
machter Japanexperte, der gerne „hands-on“ arbeitet. Japan hat sich gerade in den letzten Jahren in vielen Bereichen weiterentwickelt. So treiben die Globalisierung der japanischen Wirtschaft, Digitalisierung, Start-ups, neue Marktteilnehmer und Geschäftsmodelle die Veränderungen im Land voran. Den deutschen Unternehmen bringen diese Einflussfaktoren vor allem vielfältige Impulse sowie Chancen für ihre Geschäftsbeziehungen mit japanischen Partnern. Eine weiterhin enge Zusammenarbeit zwischen OAV und AHK Japan wird künftig dazu beitragen, das oft tradierte und auch verzerrte Japanbild in Deutschland aktueller zu gestalten.

H.E. Kyung-soo Lee is currently the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the Federal Republic of Germany. Since he joined the Korean Foreign Service, he has served in various key posts in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including as Deputy Minister for Political Affairs, as well as in several overseas missions. He was mainly active in the Asia-Pacific region and in Europe, including Australia, Singapore, China, Japan, Austria and Hungary. He was also Ambassador to Cambodia. Ambassador Lee is a graduate of Yonsei University (B.A. in Political Science), Korea, and received an M.Phil. in International Relations from the University of Cambridge, UK. He is married to Mrs. Ok-Kyoung Han. They have two sons. Korea and Germany enjoy a very special relationship based on common experience and shared values. Ambassador Lee is looking forward to further improving the already excellent relations in a mutually beneficial way. He will strengthen the bonds in the fields of science and technology, SMEs, education, trade, investment and culture in particular.

Ambassador Dato’ Zulkifli Adnan has been serving as a diplomat in the Malaysian Foreign Service for over 32 years. He has a post-graduate Master’s degree M.A Law & Diplomacy, from the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy, Boston, USA (1991). He presented his Letters of Credence to the Federal President of Germany, H.E. Joachim Gauck at Schloss Bellevue on 19 May 2015, thus formally assuming the post of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Malaysia to the Federal Republic of Germany. He had served in various posts abroad. His last foreign assignment was as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Bosnia and Herzegovina (2008-2011). His previous assignments include The Hague, Netherlands (2001-2004), New York, USA (1993-1998) and Colombo, Sri Lanka (1986-1988). His present responsibility is to work towards fostering closer ties between Malaysia and Germany in the economic, social, political, educational and cultural sectors. One of his immediate priorities is to organize the visit of the Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to Germany in the near future to add momentum and further invigorate the existing bilateral relations.

H.E. Daw Yin Yin Myint has been the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar to the Federal Republic of Germany since May 2015. Daw Yin Yin Myint joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Myanmar as third secretary in April 1983. Her foreign assignments include postings in Myanmar’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations Office in Geneva (1990-1993), Myanmar Embassy in Rome (1998-2001), Myanmar Embassy in Washington D. C. as Deputy Chief of Mission (2005-2007) and as Ambassador to Brunei Darussalam (2012-2015). At headquarters, she served as Assistant Director for International Organizations Department as well as in several deputy positions. She also served concurrently as Secretary of the Myanmar Institute of Strategic and International Studies, a think tank in the ASEAN-ISIS network from 2010 to 2012. Her specialized areas of study are China and Human Rights. As Ambassador to Germany, she would like to focus on promotion of two way trade and investment by introducing Myanmar’s poten tials to Germany and beyond. She is also keen to strengthen people to people ties through culture and tourism. Her ambition is to realize Myanmar’s vision to become the country contributing food security and energy security in the ASEAN Community and beyond.