UK high commissioner presents credentials
His Excellency President Lionel
Aingimea welcomes the United Kingdom's non-resident high
commissioner to Nauru at the virtual presentation of credentials,
11 January.
Thomas Edward Coward is the new
High Commissioner of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to Nauru
and the Solomon Islands.
"Nauru and the United Kingdom share
a relationship spanning over many decades, a historical and
enduring relationship," President Aingimea said.
"Our respective governments'
mutual respect of the rule of law and shared responsibility to
uphold and respect universal values of peace, freedom, democracy
and human rights has compounded that relationship further."
High Commissioner Coward took up
his appointment in December 2021, succeeding Dr Brian Jones.
Prior to his new appointment he
worked as team leader for the Inclusive Growth and Livelihoods Team
at the British Embassy Yangon in Myanmar and as a country economist
for the UK Government's Department for International Development
(DFID) in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of Congo. He previously
worked in the Solomon Islands as a senior research analyst for the
Central Bank of Solomon Islands from 2008 to 2010 under the
Overseas Development Institute Fellowship Scheme.
The high commissioner is the UK
government's representative in a Commonwealth nation. They are
responsible for the direction and work of the High Commission and
its Deputy High Commissions and/or Consulates, including political
work, trade and investment, press and cultural relations, and visa
and consular services.