Acting Foreign Minister B. Elias Shoniyin present the Exequatur Certificate to Mr. Houssein Cheaitou
Exequatur is an official recognition by a government of a consul, agent, or other representative of a foreign state, authorizing them to exercise the duties of office. This is the first of its kind for the Republic of Colombia to have a direct representative in Liberia.
According to a Foreign Ministry release, Acting Foreign Minister, Mr. B. Elias Shoniyin, presented the exequatur certificate to Honorary Consul General Mr. Cheaitou during a brief ceremony at the Foreign Ministry on June 16, 2017.
In his remarks, Acting Foreign Minister Shoniyin stated that he was glad that he was the one presenting the official recognition to Mr. Cheaitou. “I was lucky to be the one in office, to receive Ambassador Claudia Turbay Quintero, when she came to present her Letters of Credence to President Sirleaf; so here am I again in office to present to you this exequatur,” he told Mr. Cheaitou.
Her Excellency Madam Claudia Turbay Quintero is Colombia’s Ambassador to Liberia.
Mr. Shoniyin further stated that during a previous meeting, he had suggested to Ambassador Quintero that for Colombia to have a stronger presence in Liberia, it was expedient that the Government of Colombia considered having a direct representation in Liberia since the embassy is not based in Liberia but Accra, Ghana.
“Your presence here today is the result of the discussion that day when she came to present her Letters of Credence to President Sirleaf,” he told Mr. Cheaitou, who is also the general manager of the Cheaitou Brothers Inc., a local wholesale and retail dealer in frozen meat and fish on the Liberian market for many years.
Responding, Mr. Cheaitou thanked Acting Minister Shoniyin for the warm welcome and disclosed to Foreign Ministry officials present that he is a “son of the soil.”
He promised to further improve on the already cordial relationship between Liberia and Colombia in areas of tourism, security, world peace, education, among other sectors.