Equatorial Guinea to Host Welcome Reception for New U.S. Ambassador

Purificación Angue Ondo, the ambassador of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea to the United States, will host a welcome reception for the newly appointed U.S. ambassador to Equatorial Guinea, Mark Asquino, on August 3 at the Equatorial Guinea embassy.

Expected attendees are representatives from the Washington D.C. business community, including Marathon Oil and Hess, and Department of State officials including Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Johnnie Carson.

Ambassador Asquino is a career foreign service officer holding the rank of minister counselor and currently serves as the executive assistant in the Office of the Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights at the Department of State. He previously served as a senior public diplomacy fellow at The George Washington University and deputy chief of mission at the U.S. embassies in Sudan and Kazakhstan.

Purificación Angue Ondo has served as ambassador to the United States since 2005. Prior to this appointment she was president of the U.N.’s Africa Region Coordinating Committee for the Integration of Women, Central African Sub-region.