From left: Irish Consul General John Keane, Hungarian Consul General Helen Szablya, Secretary Reed, Secretary-elect Wyman, and Mrs. Keane (Photo courtesy of Patrick McDonald)

Secretary of State Sam Reed and Secretary-elect Kim Wyman, in their first official joint appearance since Wyman’s election two weeks ago, greeted the Consular Corps Tuesday.

It was Reed’s last meeting with a group that includes many old friends — and the first for Wyman. The Secretary of State, along with the Governor and Lieutenant Governor, are the main points of contact for the consuls from Seattle and the West Coast. They host visiting foreign delegations and do occasional trade-and-tourism missions.  Many of the consuls will attend the state’s inauguration ceremony for the new statewide elected officials on Jan. 16.

Over Washington cider and cheese, Reed and Wyman greeted visitors from Mexico, Russia, Taiwan, Canada, Jamaica, Italy, Croatia, Uzbekistan, Hungary, France, El Salvador, Turkey, Ireland, Iceland, Norway, Japan, Spain, Peru, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Belgium, Latvia, Czech Republic and the Republic of Korea.