​(Communicated by the President's Spokesperson)
 
President Rivlin this morning (Wednesday, 3 August 2016) at his residence received the diplomatic credentials of new ambassadors to Israel from the India, Chile, Myanmar, Estonia, and Lesotho. Each ceremony began with the raising of the flag and the playing of the national anthem of the visiting country, included an honor guard, and - after the presentation of the credentials - the signing of the guest book, before the playing of Israel's national anthem 'Hatikva'.
 
First to present his credentials was Ambassador of India, H.E Mr. Pavan Kapoor. President Rivlin welcomed the Ambassador, his wife, and delegation and said, "The relationship between our two peoples and our two states is being spoken about all over, and the cooperation between us is not only about innovation where we are trying our best to tackle problems in agriculture and water, energy, but also cyber and the need for security. I know that we can expand this cooperation and your appointment is an opportunity to look at ways we can do so. I convey my best regards to the President and Prime Minister, and I hope that the Prime Minster will be able to visit Israel and that I will be able to visit India in the coming months."
 
Ambassador Kapoor thanked the President and said, "We are working to take our relationship further. We have received Israel's help in a number of areas including defense, agriculture and water where we suffer a lot - in our country we either have droughts or floods, and we have a lot we can learn from Israel." The Ambassador added, "We are looking forward to your visit and are working on dates for what I believe will be a landmark visit."
 
President Rivlin thanked him and concluded, "The Indian and Israeli peoples have a lot in common, we know how to respect tradition and to be ready to learn and bring innovation to our lives for the benefit of our peoples and the whole world."
 
Next the newly appointed Ambassador of Chile, H.E Mrs. Monica Jimenez De La Jara presented her credentials. The President welcomed her and showed her a picture of him as Speaker of the Knesset together with former President of the Chilean Senate and daughter of former Chilean president Isabel Allende taken at an international conference in Santiago. The President congratulated the Ambassador on her appointment and said, "I know that coming here from having served as Ambassador to the Vatican, you will feel at home in Jerusalem which is the center of the Holy Land. I welcome you also as a former education minister and we know that everything one can bring to our people begins with education. We are doing all we can in Israel; while 90 years ago we had only one university, now we have more than 6 universities and many colleges that are giving the opportunity to every citizen of Israel to study. We believe that the future of all people is together with education." The President spoke of the relationship between the two governments and added, "From time to time we have some differences of opinion but we know that the relationship between our two peoples and governments is strong. We can accept criticism - we do not accept boycott - but we can accept criticism."
 
The Ambassador of Chile thanked the President for his warm welcome and said, "I am honored to have come from the Holy See to the Holy Land. I greatly appreciate being in a country with so much university activity. We have visited the Weizmann Institute, and the Hebrew University and we have plans to visit many more. We would like to have an academic delegation from Chile to reinforce the academic and research relations."
 
She added, "I have worked all my life for peace. I know the situation in the Middle East is very difficult but Chile is ready with an open hand to do all it can to advance peace."
 
Next, Ambassador of Myanmar, H.E Mr. Maung Maung Lynn arrived to present his credentials. The President welcomed him, his wife and delegation and said, "Mr. Ambassador, I remember as a student in High School when the Prime Minister of your country, U Nu, came to visit Israel, and then as a soldier in the IDF I remember Israel's first Prime Minister Ben Gurion visited your country and brought back a great appreciation for your people and your culture. We are very proud of our connection and our relationship with your people. The Foreign Ministry started the idea of MASHAV in your country, the idea of connecting with other peoples through learning together and sharing our knowledge about water for example. We also know that many Jews found shelter in your country until the outbreak of war. I want to congratulate you on the recent democratic elections in your country, which make Myanmar stronger."
 
Ambassador Lynn thanked the President and noted, "It is a great pleasure to be here. I am here with my family and my daughter who will study here, and we have visited much of the country."
 
Next, Ambassador of Estonia, H.E Mr. Sulev Kannike presented his credentials. The President congratulated him on his appointment and said, "We appreciate the wonderful relationship between our states and governments, and we appreciate your support for Israel in the international arena on so many issues, as well as the participation of Estonia in peace keeping efforts in the region. We appreciate also the understanding of Estonia on Holocaust education in your schools and among your people. In the field of cyber we are working together, in order to keep safe people in the region, and across Europe and the world." The President added, "Please send my special wishes to your Foreign Minister who served as Ambassador of Estonia in Israel."
 
Ambassador Kannike thanked the President and said, "I am happy to convey the greetings of my President who visited Israel in 2012. Bilateral relations between Israel and Estonia are almost without problems. We understand each other very well, and this is important for us. In July next year Estonia is taking over the Presidency of the European Union and I hope this will help us improve not only our bilateral relations but also our multilateral relations. I also express my appreciation for Israel's work in cyber security and startups – an area in which Estonia is also working hard."
 
Ambassador of Lesotho, H.E Mrs. Lineo Irene Molisa-Mabusela then presented her credentials as non-resident Ambassador to Israel. President Rivlin congratulated the Ambassador on her appointment and stressed, "The relationship between our two nations is very important to us and despite any crises, we have maintained uninterrupted relations." The President spoke of the important cooperation between the peoples in the fields of agriculture and water innovation, he said, "We would like to see more of your students come to study through MASHAV especially here in Israel." The President added, "Israel would be pleased to return to its observer status at the African Union."
 
Ambassador thanked the President and said "Allow me to pass the warmest wishes of His Majesty and the people of Lesotho. We are appreciative of the wonderful relations between our two countries, and we would like to work to open new channels of communication including in the fields of healthcare, agriculture, water and many others."