Ambassadors of Korea, Portugal, Moldova and Rwanda are among the latest to be recognised and welcome by the Monaco Government and Prince Albert.

Monaco’s Minister of External Relations and Cooperation Marie-Catherine Caruso-Ravera on Tuesday 7th November received, during a lunch organised at the Hermitage Hotel, Ambassador of Korea Jai Chul Choi,Ambassador of Portugal José Augusto de Jesus Duarte, Ambassador of Moldova Corina Cãlugãru, and François Nkulikiyimfura, Ambassador of Rwanda.

In the morning, the diplomats had presented their Letters of Credence to Prince Albert II of Monaco.

Jai Chul Choi holds a Bachelor’s degree in French language and literature from the Seoul National University and a diploma in Diplomatic Studies from the Institute of Advanced International and Development Studies in Geneva. He joined the Ministry of Affairs Korean Foreign Affairs in 1981. After holding various positions within the Korean Embassies in France, Kenya and then the Philippines, in 1999 he became Director of the Environmental Cooperation Division of the Bureau of International Economic Affairs then Director General of this same Office in 2007. Subsequently, he was Ambassador of Korea to Morocco as well as to the OECD.

José Augusto de Jesus Duarte began his career at the General Directorate of European Affairs of the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1990. He graduated in International Relations from the Higher Institute of Social and Political Sciences of the University of Lisbon, and was Director of the Cabinet of the Minister of Foreign Affairs before being appointed, in 2009, Director of Sub-Saharan Africa in the General Directorate of Foreign Policy. After having held various positions within the Portuguese Embassies in the USA, in Spain and at the Permanent Representation of Portugal to the European Union, he was appointed Ambassador of Portugal to Mozambique from 2013 to 2016. He became Advisor to the President of the Portuguese Republic in 2016, and was appointed Ambassador to China from 2017 to 2022 then Ambassador of Portugal to France in 2022.

Corina Cãlugãru holds a master’s degree in law and a degree in economics, and began her career as a diplomat in 2004. In 2010, she became Advisor to the Permanent Representation of the Republic of Moldova to the Office of the Nations United Nations, in Geneva, and in 2012 Director of the Directorate of Global Affairs and Human Rights, before being appointed Ambassador to the Council of Europe in 2015. Since 2022, she has been Ambassador of the Republic of Moldova in France, Permanent Delegate of the Republic of Moldova to UNESCO and Personal Representative of the President to the Permanent Council of La Francophonie (OIF).

François Nkulikiyimfura holds a Master’s degree in industrial economics from the University of Paris XIII and has more than 25 years of experience, including 18 years in development economics, and the management of development financing programs acquired while working to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning of Rwanda and to the African Development Bank. Nkulikiyimfura is currently Ambassador of the Republic of Rwanda to France, Spain, Italy, Monaco and Portugal. He is also Permanent Delegate to UNESCO, OIF, OECD, FAO, IFAD as well as to the WFP.

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