And he handed the Argentine ambassador the credentials that formally enable him to perform the tasks and obligations
Argentina’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, Javier Figueroa, presented his credentials to Queen Elizabeth II of England on Wednesday, in an unusual ceremony marked by the coronavirus restrictions that still exist in that country.
In the session that should have been held last year and was postponed due to the epidemic, And he handed the Argentine ambassador the credentials that formally enable him to perform the tasks and obligations Related to his office before the court of St. James.
Pandemic ceremony
Due to restrictions caused by the epidemic, the credentials were presented to the king at an official ceremony, held in person at Buckingham Palace, where Queen Elizabeth spoke roughly through a screen resting on a desk.
Last year Figueroa provided copies of his credentials to Deputy Marshall of the Diplomatic Corps at the Foreign Office, Victoria Busby, who welcomed him on behalf of the British government.
For centuries, ambassadors carried an envelope with an original sealed copy of credentials and an unsealed copy, which is delivered to the State Department upon arrival, while the original is presented in person to the Head of State, in this case to Queen Elizabeth II at an official ceremony.
“It was a very formal conversation and she also commented that I have instructions to work on all aspects of the complex bilateral relationship between the UK and our country.”“
As the British protocol tradition indicates, The Argentine ambassador and his wife, Alessandra Vigiano Mara, who is also a diplomat, were escorted by buoys at the official residence and taken to Buckingham Palace., A tour of the central British capital.
The Queen’s Marshall, Alistair Harrison, head of the king’s diplomatic corps, was responsible for finding the ambassador at the official residence of the Argentine embassy and escorting him to Buckingham.
After the ceremony ended, Harrison again accompanied the ambassador to the Argentine residence where wine of honor was served, which, in this case, was not served with the guests due to the Coronavirus.
During the hearing, The ambassador took the opportunity to convey to the Queen the greetings of President Alberto Fernandez and the Argentine people.
He also commented that he had received instructions from Casa Rosada to work on all aspects of bilateral relations.
“It was a very formal conversation and I also commented that I have instructions to work on all aspects of the complex bilateral relationship between the UK and our country,” the ambassador said in an interview with Telam after the ceremony.
According to Figueroa, the conversation was very fun and fluid despite the fact that the screen separated the two.
You said that during the conversation, the king was interested in the situation Argentina is currently experiencing with the epidemic and asked him about the country’s condition in this regard.
The ambassador stated that the Queen spoke during the meeting with his wife, who is also the head of the culture department at the embassy, and they talked about the cultural agenda set for this year.
Figueroa was appointed last year by President Alberto Fernandez, Ambassador to the United Kingdom and Ireland, while he was in charge of the embassy in Cuba and previously worked as a diplomatic representative in South Africa..
After Boris Johnson’s government had given him his style, he replaced the diplomat Carlos Sercel, appointed by the administration of Mauricio Macri.
A former student of Colegio Cardenal Copello de Villa Devoto, UBA attorney and professional civil servant, he earned a degree from the Nation’s Foreign Service Institute in 1995.
