Mme Marie-Catherine Caruso-Ravera, Director of Diplomatic and Consular Relations, received four newly-accredited Ambassadors during a lunch at the Hermitage Hotel: His Excellency Mr Makita SHIMOKAWA, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan; HE Mr Matti ANTTONEN, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Finland; HE Dr Khalid Mohamed Farah ELFAHAL, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Sudan and HE Mr. Datin Paduka Hajah Rakiah ABDUL LAMIT, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Brunei Darussalam.
The diplomats had presented their credentials to HSH the Sovereign Prince during Monday morning. Graduate in law from the University of Tokyo and enarque (Fernand Braudel promotion), H.E. M. Makita SHIMOKAWA entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan in 1984. After having held various positions at the Bureau of Economic Affairs, he was appointed Ambassador of Japan in Indonesia in 2011 then Director General of Cultural Affairs in 2016. From 2019 to 2022 he was Ambassador of Japan to Belgium and to NATO.
In office since September 2022 as Ambassador of Finland to France, HE Mr Matti ANTTONEN, holder of a master’s degree in economics and a master’s degree in political science, began his career in 1986 in foreign affairs and served in Paris, Stockholm, Moscow, Washington and Geneva. Ambassador of Finland to Stockholm and Moscow, he was also Secretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2018 to 2022.
Holder of a bachelor’s degree in literature from the University of Khartoum as well as a master’s degree in diplomacy and international studies from Washington International University, HE Dr Khalid Mohamed Farah ELFAHAL was, from 1986 to 2006, diplomatic agent in several departments at the headquarters of the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Subsequently, he was Ambassador in many African countries (Senegal, Mali, Gambia, Burkina Faso, Coast of Ivory, Guinea Bissau, Cape Verde, Angola and Sao Tome and Principe). Since September 2023, he has been Non-resident Ambassador of Sudan to Portugal.
HE Mrs. Datin Paduka Hajah Rakiah ABDUL LAMIT holds a bachelor’s degree in social anthropology from the University of Kent (United Kingdom). Having joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brunei in 1985, she held several positions before being appointed Ambassador from Brunei to Brazil and Argentina then subsequently to Europe (Germany, Switzerland, Poland, Austria, Norway, Finland and Iceland).
ORIGINAL SOURCE & PHOTO: Monaco Government Press Service
