Foreign Policy: new ambassadors accredited from Japan, Finland, Sudan, and Brunei

De gauche à droite : S.E. M. Makita SHIMOKAWA, Ambassadeur Extraordinaire et Plénipotentiaire du Japon ; S.E. Mme Datin Paduka Hajah Rakiah ABDUL LAMIT, Ambassadeur Extraordinaire et Plénipotentiaire du Bruneï Darussalam ; Marie-Catherine CARUSO-RAVERA, Directeur des Relations Diplomatiques et Consulaires ; S.E. M. Matti ANTTONEN, Ambassadeur Extraordinaire et Plénipotentiaire de la République de Finlande et S.E. Dr. Khalid Mohamed Farah ELFAHAL, Ambassadeur Extraordinaire et Plénipotentiaire de la République du Soudan. © Manuel Vitali – Direction de la Communication

On Monday, 6 November, Ms Marie-Catherine Caruso-Ravera, Director of the Department of Diplomatic and Consular Relations, hosted a luncheon at the Hôtel Hermitage on behalf of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, with the following diplomats all in attendance: H.E. Mr. Makita Shimokawa, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan; H.E. Mr. Matti Anttonen, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Finland; H.E. Dr. Khalid Mohamed Farah Elfahal, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Sudan; and H.E. Ms. Datin Paduka Hajah Rakiah Abdul Lamit, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Brunei Darussalam. In the morning, they each presented their Letters of Credence to H.S.H., the Sovereign Prince.

H.E. Mr. Makita Shimokawa holds a law degree from the University of Tokyo and is a graduate of the Ecole Nationale d'Administration (ENAR) (Fernand Braudel class). He joined the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1984. After serving in various positions at the Department of Economic Affairs, he was appointed Japan's Ambassador to Indonesia in 2011 and then Director General for Cultural Affairs in 2016. And from 2019 to 2022 he was Japan's Ambassador to Belgium and to NATO.

Appointed Finland's Ambassador to France in September 2022, H.E. Mr Matti Anttonen, who holds a master's degree in economics and a master's degree in political science, began his career in foreign affairs in 1986 and has served in Paris, Stockholm, Moscow, Washington and Geneva. Finland's Ambassador to Stockholm and Moscow, he was also State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2018 to 2022.

H.E. Dr. Khalid Mohamed Farah Elfahal holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Khartoum and a Master's degree in Diplomacy and International Studies from Washington International University. From 1986 to 2006, he served as a diplomatic officer in several departments at the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs before going on to serve as ambassador to a number of African countries (Senegal, Mali, Gambia, Burkina Faso, the Ivory Coast, Guinea Bissau, Cape Verde, Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe), and has been Sudan's non-resident Ambassador to Portugal since September 2023.

H.E. Ms Datin Paduka Hajah Rakiah Abdul Lamit holds a degree in Social Anthropology from the University of Kent (United Kingdom). She joined Brunei's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1985 and held a number of posts before being appointed Brunei's Ambassador to Brazil and Argentina, and subsequently to Europe (Germany, Switzerland, Poland, Austria, Norway, Finland and Iceland).