Mr. President, on behalf of the Directors and members of the World Federation of Consuls, I would like to thank you most sincerely for receiving us this afternoon. This is a great honour and it is much appreciated.

I am humbled and deeply appreciative that H. E. The First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon. Ivica Dačić, has discerned the importance of this occasion and taken the time to add his presence to declare our 1st South East Europe Regional Consular Conference officially open.

FICAC, the World Federation of Consuls, was founded in Copenhagen on 2 October 1982 by a small group of visionaries led by Consul General Vagn Jespersen of Denmark. Countries present at the meeting and first signatories were Finland, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Sweden and Denmark.

On 24 April 2013, FICAC celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the Vienna Convention with a reception held in the United Nations Plaza in New York City. The event was attended by 75 country representatives including the President of the UN General Assembly…

In celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Vienna Convention, the ICC (Istanbul Consular
Corps) organized a conference with Hon. Mehmet Samsar, General Manager of the Directorate of Consular Affairs of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, that was held on Tuesday, 6 May 2014 at the Hilton Istanbul Bosphorus Hotel.

In picture from left Hon. Aykut Eken, FICAC Secretary General, Hon. Nikolaos Margaropoulos introducing Dr. Michael Nobel, FICAC President, Honourable Arnold Foote and Hon. Costas Lefkaritis.

In his introduction, Hon. Nikolaos Margaropoulos said:

Michael Nobel was born in 1941 in Stockholm, Sweden. He is a member of the Nobel family, the great grandson of Industrialist and humanitarian, Ludvig Nobel, the founder of Branobel, and one of the worlds richest men in his time. Ludvig was the brother of Alfred Nobel who invented dynamite, and established 5 prizes in the family name.

FICAC President, The Honourable Arnold Foote OJ, CD, JP, Dr. Michael Nobel and Hon. Costas Lefkaritis.

FICAC President Arnold Foote, in his speech, said:

On behalf of the Board of Directors of the World Federation of Consuls, it gives me great pleasure to welcome you all here this evening to our banquet to honour Dr. Michael Nobel.

The Honourable Arnold Foote OJ, CD, JP, President of the World Federation of Consuls.

The rapidly changing global environment affects the nature of the work done by consuls and the conditions under which they work. Among the significant challenges that consuls face globally is the emergence of new security risks that threaten peace, security and development.

Governor of East Java, H.E. Dr. H. Soekarwo, in his speech, declared the Conference officially open. In his speech, H.E. Dr. H. Soekarwo said: Assalamu’alikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh

First of all and foremost, let me humbly invite you all to praise the Lord, the Almighty, for His grace and blessing that enable us all to gather in this City of Heroes, after only last week the Indonesian people celebrated the Heroes’ Day