Diplomacy – Accreditation of Ambassadors from Estonia – Côte d’Ivoire – Montenegro

From left to right : Mr Georges Lisimacchio, Head of the Prince’s Cabinet ; H.E. Mr Alar Streimann, Ambassador of the Republic of Estonia ; H.E. Mr Serge Telle, Minister of State, H.E. Ms Dragica Ponorac, Ambassador of Montenegro,  H.E. Mr Charles Gomis, Ambassador of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire and Mr Gilles Tonelli, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation  ©Manuel Vitali Government Media Bureau

Thursday 11 February 2016,  the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation welcomed H.E. Mr Alar Streimann*, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Estonia, H.E. Mr Charles Gomis**, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, and H.E. Ms Dragica Ponorac***, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Montenegro, who presented their credentials to H.S.H. the Sovereign Prince during the morning.

An official lunch was organised at the Hotel Hermitage, hosted by Mr Gilles Tonelli, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, and attended by Mr Georges Lisimacchio, Head of the Prince’s Cabinet. H.E. the Minister of State joined the Ambassadors after the lunch.

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*H.E. Mr Alar Streimann joined the Trade Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1991 as a Counsellor and Trade Negotiator. He became Counsellor and Deputy Head of Mission at the Estonian Embassy to Sweden in 1993, then rejoined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as Director General for Economic Affairs. He then held the posts of Undersecretary of State for European Integration and Deputy Director of the delegation responsible for the EU accession negotiations; Ambassador to the Council of Europe and then to Sweden; and, since January 2011, Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

**After several years at the Ministry of Economy and Finance as Chief of Staff to the Minister, H.E. Mr Charles Gomis became Chairman and Executive Director of the Ivorian Maritime Transport Company in 1973. He was appointed Ambassador to Brazil and Colombia in 1978 and then to the Bahamas, Mexico and the United States. He joined the African Development Bank as Special Advisor to the President in 1995, then became Director of the United Nations Mission in the Congo. He is the first Ambassador of the Côte d’Ivoire to be accredited in Monaco.

***A political science graduate, H.E. Ms Dragica Ponorac pursued a career in journalism, where she was a defender of freedom of speech, before being appointed Minister Counsellor at the Embassy of Serbia and Montenegro to France. In 2010, she joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration’s Bilateral Relations Department as Director of the North, Central and South America, Asia, Africa, Australia, Pacific and Middle East Section. She was appointed Ambassador in 2014.