Diplomacy – Accreditation of Ambassadors from Brunei Darussalam, Colombia and Australia

Monaco, Tuesday 3 February – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation held a meeting with the ambassadors from Brunei Darussalam, Colombia and Australia, who presented their credentials to H.S.H. the Sovereign Prince during the morning. This working session provided an opportunity to discuss the diplomatic, cultural and economic relations between the Principality and the three countries.

H.E. Mr Dato Paduka Zainidi Sidup, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Brunei Darussalam, joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1987, where he was Director first of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Department, then of the Administration Department and, finally, of the Protocol and Consular Affairs Department. He was appointed an Ambassador in 1997, and held this role in Laos, Cambodia and France, then becoming non-resident Ambassador to Italy, Spain and Portugal. He is currently Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Brunei Darussalam to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation.

Having previously served as General Secretary to the President of the Republic since 2011, H.E. Mr Federico Alonso Renjifo Velez, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Colombia was appointed Minister of the Interior. He went on to take responsibility for the Ministry of Mines and Energy until September 2013. During his private sector career, he was Executive Chairman of Colombia’s Central Bank, then Chairman of Compania Financiera Internacional S.A. and the Asociación de Fiduciarias de Colombia.

Foreign policy advisor to leaders of the opposition and shadow foreign ministers since 1986, H.E. Mr Stephen Brady, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Australia, began his diplomatic career in 1989 when he was appointed as First Secretary at Australia’s Embassy in Stockholm. He became Counsellor and then Chargé d’Affaires at the Embassy in Dublin. From 1996, he was promoted several times, becoming Senior Advisor to the Prime Minister, Australia’s Ambassador to Sweden and then to the Netherlands, and finally, Official Secretary to the Governor-General.

Following a presentation by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation to the newly accredited ambassadors, an official lunch was organised in the Hotel Hermitage’s Salon Excelsior. The lunch was hosted by Ms Mireille Pettiti, Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, and attended by Ms Anne-Marie Boisbouvier, representing the Prince’s Cabinet; H.E. Ms Catherine Fautrier, Monaco’s Ambassador to Australia; Ms Marie-Catherine Caruso-Favera, Director of Diplomatic and Consular Relations; and Vincent Lozza, Director General of the Membership Development & Services Department at the Monaco Economic Development Chamber.