Diplomacy: accreditation of new ambassadors from Cyprus – Sri Lanka – Cambodia – Ethiopia

De gauche à droite : S.E. Mme Manisha GUNASEKERA, Ambassadeur Extraordinaire et Plénipotentiaire du Sri Lanka ; S.E. Mme Mahlet Hailu GUADEY, Ambassadeur Extraordinaire et Plénipotentiaire d’Ethiopie ; Mme Marie-Catherine CARUSO-RAVERA, Directeur des Relations Diplomatiques et Consulaires ; S.E. M. Pavlos KOMBOS, Ambassadeur Extraordinaire et Plénipotentiaire de Chypre et S.E. M. David LUY, Ambassadeur Extraordinaire et Plénipotentiaire du Cambodge. © Stéphane Danna – Direction de la Communication.

On Thursday 17 October, on behalf of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Ms Marie-Catherine Caruso-Ravera, Director of Diplomatic and Consular Relations, received H.E. Mr Pavlos Kombos, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Cyprus; H.E. Ms Manisha Gunasekera, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Sri Lanka; H.E. Mr David Luy, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Cambodia; and H.E. Ms Mahlet Hailu Guadey, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia.

The diplomats presented their credentials to H.S.H. the Sovereign Prince during the morning.

With a degree in international law (EU law) from the University of Edinburgh, H.E. Mr Pavlos Kombos began his diplomatic career as a team leader in the Department of Multilateral Affairs at the Cypriot Ministry of Foreign Affairs and then served as Deputy Permanent Representative to the Council of Europe from 2003 to 2005. He was next appointed Permanent Representative of the Republic of Cyprus to the EU, before becoming Deputy Head of the Cypriot Embassy in France in 2010. He was then seconded to the European External Action Service (EEAS) of the European Union, and subsequently appointed as Head of the EU Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2017 to 2019. More recently, he served as Cyprus’ Deputy Permanent Representative to the EU. The Ambassador is accredited in France, and is also the Ambassador and Permanent Delegate to UNESCO and the Ambassador to the International Organisation of La Francophonie (IOF).

H.E. Manisha Gunasekera has a bachelor’s degree in social science from Delhi University, a master’s degree in international political economy and development from The Hague International Institute of Social Studies, a master’s degree from the University of Colombo and a doctorate in European studies from Sciences Po in Paris. She has 28 years of experience as a diplomat, having joined the Sri Lankan foreign affairs service in 1996. She previously served as Additional Secretary for Bilateral Affairs (West) at the Sri Lankan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and as the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Republic of Korea. H.E. Manisha Gunasekera is Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to France and Permanent Delegate to UNESCO, with simultaneous accreditation to Spain, Portugal and Andorra.

A graduate of the Institute of International Relations in Moscow (master’s degree in international relations), H.E. Mr David Luy began his diplomatic career in 1999 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation as Assistant to the Minister. In 2002, he joined the Department of La Francophonie, first as Deputy Director and then, from 2004, as Director. From 2008 to 2012, he was Cambodia’s Consul General in Hong Kong and Macao, before serving as Chief of Staff to the Minister of Foreign Affairs. From 2016 to 2023, H.E. Mr David Luy was Secretary of State for International Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. He is Ambassador of the Kingdom of Cambodia to France, and is also accredited to Italy, Spain, Portugal, Malta and Andorra.

H.E. Ms Mahlet Hailu Guadey, who holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and international relations from Addis Ababa University and a master’s degree in international relations from CNAM in Paris, began her diplomatic career in 1998 as an attaché at the Directorate General for African Affairs, and subsequently served in various posts at the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the Africa Department then the Directorate General for Africa. She was Vice Consul at the Consulate in Los Angeles and served as Chargé d’Affaires at the Embassy in Paris. From 2011 to 2016, she was Head of the Protocol and External Relations Department before moving to New York to take up post as Ethiopia’s Deputy Permanent Representative, with rank of Ambassador, to the United Nations. In 2021 and 2022, she served Ethiopia’s Deputy Permanent Representative, with rank of Ambassador, to the United Nations in Geneva. She is currently Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia to France, with equal accreditation to Portugal, Spain and the Holy See, as well as Ethiopia’s Permanent Delegate to UNESCO.