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Noul Ambasadar al Regatului Unit în România, HMA (Her Majesty’s Ambassador) Martin Harris, scrie – pe blogul oficial al Foreign & Commonwealth Office – despre experiența acreditării în postul de ambasador:
The post of Ambassador is no ordinary job. For most jobs you do an interview, sign a contract, show up at the office and get down to work. I did an interview for this job, but that was over a year ago in London. Once I was selected for it, I became a piece of protocol in the diplomatic relationship between Romania and the United Kingdom.
The exchange of Ambassadors is one of the essential functions of diplomatic relations, and it is an exchange that takes place between Heads of State. So my appointment first had to be agreed by the Queen and then by the President of Romania. But even then I wasn’t Ambassador in the fullest sense.
The protocol dictates that the new Ambassador should be received by the Head of State and present his credentials. This tradition goes back to the days before e-mail, telephone, fax or even the postal system. The Ambassador would arrive in the country like a postman carrying letters from the sovereign for the receiving Head of State. And especially two letters – one notifying him or her that the Ambassador is empowered to represent the United Kingdom, and the other informing the host Head of State that the Ambassador’s predecessor has been recalled from his or her duties.
So, in my first week in Bucharest, carrying these two letters each embossed with the Royal seal, dressed in my best (in my case my kilt), accompanied by my wife, Deputy Defence Attaché and, creating my own bit of tradition, one of the longest-serving Romanian member of the Embassy’s staff, I went up to the Cotroceni Palace to meet the President.
Totodată, proaspătul ambasador împărtășește, într-o altă postare, o perspectivă pozitivă asupra evoluției României de-a lungul ultimilor douăzeci de ani:
The following summer, 1990, we both took the train to eastern Europe to see the countries which had been cut off from the West for so long, and we came here to Romania. I really treasure my memories of that summer. There was an extraordinary atmosphere – of excitement but uncertainty, possibility and danger. I still remember the buildings in Sibiu which had been raked by gunfire. But I also remember the warm welcome we got from everyone we met in Romania. It wasn’t easy traveling around the country that summer. It was sometimes hard to find somewhere to eat, somewhere to stay, even something to drink. But we always found someone to help us out. In Brasov I remember we were met at the station by an old lady, Maria, who offered us accommodation at her house, fed us superbly and helped us out with tickets for the next leg of our journey. She sent us a card at Christmas for years afterwards.[…]
And now we’re back in Romania. I could not have imagined twenty years ago that I would return here as British Ambassador. And I could not have imagined that I would be returning to a country that was a member of NATO and a member of the EU. Three things strike me after twenty years. The first is the astonishing achievement of Romania’s accession to the EU and NATO, in spite of the trauma that Ceasescu’s regime wreaked on Romania’s society and its economy. I’m proud that the United Kingdom was at the forefront of those advocating Romania’s accession and in supporting Romania in its journey towards membership.
Martin Harris îi succede lui Robin Barnett, care, timp de 4 ani, a reprezentat la cel mai înalt nivel Marea Britanie în România.
Cine dorește să știe mai multe despre relațiile bilaterale dintre cele două țări poate consulta paginia oficială a Ambasadei Marii Britanii în România, probabil cel mai clar și bine-structurat site de ambasadă dintre toate misiunile diplomatice oficiale prezente la București.
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