Diva`s Diplomatic Pouch
Mr. Elchin Amirbayov, Ambassador of Azerbaijan
Somebody once said "Azerbaijan has been hosting travelers since silk worms started to spin". What kind of influence do you think this had had on the culture and the people of Azerbaijan?
I think the author of this adage was not far from truth, since Azerbaijan is one of the areas of earliest human settlement, with evidence of human habitation since the Paleolithic Age. Cave paintings in (...)
Ukraine - 15 ans d’ind ?pendance Interview de Son Excellence Yevhen Bersheda Ambassadeur de l’Ukraine
Q : Pourriez-vous nous parler un peu de votre parcours ?
Je crois que je peux diviser ma vie en trois p ?riodes diff ?rentes. A l’ ?poque sovi ?tique, j’ ?tais chercheur, professeur en ?conomie et vice-directeur de l’Institut de Recherche de l’Acad ?mie Nationale des Sciences de l’Ukraine. La p ?riode suivante s’est d ?roul ?e dans l’administration pr ?sidentielle, et la derni ?re est le service (...)
Interview with Gebran Michel Soufan , Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Lebanon to the United Nations Office and other International Organizations in Geneva
His Excellency has had a busy summer. Indeed, when the 12 July War broke out between Hezbollah and Israel, Ambassador Soufan was about to leave on holiday, but had to cancel his plans. Instead, he spent his summer rushing to meetings, writing reports, preparing for the second special session of the Human Rights Council convened on 11 August 2006 to address the Israeli violations of Human (...)
AMBASSADRESS
Ambassadress, indeed! As all we Diplomatic Bags know to our constant frustration, the term doesn’t even exist. And even when one uses the cumbersomely correct terminology - Wife of the Ambassador - it still doesn’t carry much weight. Partner? You have to be joking. Equality doesn’t come into the equation here. We are, at best, an appendage and, at worst, a liability. A ticking bomb to be kept on (...)
AMBASSADRESS
Technologically speaking, His Excellency got left behind somewhere between the introduction of the ballpoint pen and the invention of the automatic dialling system. Mobile phones he concedes to be of some use when carried by his secretary whilst on her coffee break. Computers are for rocket scientists. When, therefore, a misguided friend sent him an i-Pod for his recent birthday he went off (...)
Interview with His Excellency Mr Joseph U. Ayalogu, Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the United Nations in Geneva and Ambassador to Switzerland
Mr Ambassador is not a newcomer to diplomacy. For more than thirty-two years he has been defending the interests of his native Nigeria around the world — from Australia to Egypt, passing by Ukraine, Ireland, Hungary and Yugoslavia — before he arrived in Geneva two-and-a-half years ago as Nigeria’s ambassador to the United Nations and to Switzerland. Mr Ambassador has a lot on his plate, and as (...)
Interview with His Excellency Mr Itzhak Levanon, Permanent Mission of Israel to the United Nations Office and Specialized Institutions in Geneva
He is a busy man, the Ambassador of Israel to the United Nations in Geneva. Not only is he the permanent representative to the UN, WTO and all the international organizations, but he also has to divide his time with an active and vibrant Jewish community that also likes to have "their share of Mr Ambassador". Needless to say, he is extremely hard working, but despite all this he has kept his (...)
In the Security Council
He has a great sense of humour, Mr Ambassador. One day, by pure chance, I ran into him at the UN and took the liberty of asking if he was the person I thought he was ... He simply laughed and say — "Hush, please don’t tell anybody!"
However, every time there is a sensitive subject discussed in the Security Council, His Excellency is requested by the media to express his point of view — a task (...)
AMBASSADRESS: GONE TO POT
Awoken, not by the fragrant scent of freshly ground and brewed coffee, but by the acrid odour of burning metal and melting plastic, a series of possibilities presented themselves to the semi-conscious brain.
As in: Which should I save first? The laptop or the beagle? And where did I put that smart peignoir as opposed to the dressing gown with the hole in the sleeve? Because, if I am going to (...)
Interview avec Son Excellence M. Samir Labidi, Ambassadeur de la Tunisie aupr ?s des Nations Unies ? Gen ?ve et Pr ?sident de la Conf ?rence du D ?sarmement
Gen ?ve est certes connue en tant que capitale humanitaire du monde, mais ?galement du d ?sarmement. C’est ? Gen ?ve en 1932 qu’a eu lieu la premi ?re conf ?rence du d ?sarmement.
Depuis lors, Gen ?ve est devenue une plateforme tant de l’humanitaire que du d ?sarmement, ces deux secteurs ?tant ?troitement li ?s. Nous aimerions mieux conna ?tre les actions organis ?es ? partir de Gen ?ve dans (...)
Interview with Her Excellency Christina Rocca, Ambassadorof the United States at the Conference on Disarmament
Q: Mrs. Ambassador what is your background?
Throughout my career I have been very fortunate to have had both very challenging and interesting jobs. I am especially privileged now to represent the United States at the Conference on Disarmament.
President Bush nominated me for this post in May 2006 and the Senate confirmed me on August 3. I immediately came to Geneva with the clear goal of (...)
AMBASSADRESS: SPORT
Most of the WMDs in our Embassy are kept in the refrigerator.
The major threat facing a diplomat posted to a gastronomically advanced country is his expanding waistline, and given the cost of a half-decent wardrobe, drastic measures must be taken and sanctions applied if this impending danger is to be averted.
In an attempt to burn some of the calories absorbed whilst sacrificing the (...)
Interview with His Excellency Mr Beraki Jino, Ambassador of the Solomon Islands to the Republic of China
Mr Ambassador, what is your background?
I have been a career diplomat since entering my country’s Foreign Service a little over twenty years ago, after graduating from University. In addition to serving at the Headquarters in Honiara, Solomon Islands, at various capacities, I served two terms in New York, one in Brussels and now here in Taipei since end of 2003.
Would you be able to tell us (...)
A devoted defender of human rights - Interview with His Excellency Mr Mousa Burayzat, Ambassador of Jordan to the United Nations
He was one of the first ambassadors to sit on the Human Rights Council, and he is known as a devoted defender of human rights.
Q: You have been participating in the Human Rights Council ever since its beginning. What do you think about the Council and what has the first year been like?
The Council — taking everything into consideration — has been rather successful. Of course, we feel that in (...)
AMBASSADRESS: Human Rights
We thought we had our week nicely sorted, Beagle and I.
His Excellency was leaving for a couple of days to attend a conference in some particularly unappealing location and for once wives were not, as he so undiplomatically put it, An Issue. This may have meant that exotic hostesses were served up side by side with the complimentary cocktails, but I suspect it had more to do with the fact (...)
Interview with His Excellency Mr. Jean Feyder, ambassador of Luxembourg to the United Nations
His Excellency is a dedicated man, passionate about social justice. When he talks about cooperation with developing countries, one feels that this is something close to his heart. Perhaps it’s quite normal when one knows that His Excellency was the person in charge of building up the donor activities and policies of his country before he was appointed ambassador in Geneva.
Q: Mr. Ambassador (...)
Interview with His Excellency Mr.Valery Loshchinin
Q. Your Excellency, what is your background?
My professional career is quite straightforward –– forty-three consecutive years in the diplomatic service. I went through all the ranks: from attach? to ambassador.
Q. Would you call yourself a politician –– after having been the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation –– or a diplomat?
Diplomacy is nothing else than (...)
Interview de Son Excellence, Monsieur Babacar Mbaye, Ambassadeur, Représentant Permanent du Sénégal auprès des Nations Unies et des Agences Spécialisées à Genève ; Ambassadeur du Sénégal auprès de la Confédération Helvétique
Q : Monsieur l’Ambassadeur, me feriez-vous l’honneur de résumer votre parcours professionnel ?
Sénégalais d’une soixantaine d’années, je suis un diplomate de carrière, d’une carrière que j’ai choisie librement. Ancien élève de l’Ecole Nationale d’Administration et de Magistrature du Sénégal, - une grande institution d’enseignement supérieur qui forme les hauts cadres de la fonction publique et de la (...)
Interview de son Excellence, Ambassadeur de l’Organisation International de la Francophonie, Mr. Libère Bararunyeretse.
Monsieur l’Ambassadeur est un homme modeste qui depuis 2006 occupe le poste de représentant permanent de l’OIF auprès de l’ONU et des Organisations Internationales à Genève. Avant de venir dans la cité de Calvin, Monsieur l’Ambassadeur a eu un parcours hors pair et il a entre autre été président du Senat de son pays natal le Burundi. Il a également été Ministre des Affaires Etrangères et occupé d’autres (...)
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Ita`s world
In the ‘hollow’ of An Cabhan, or Cavan, the town very successfully hosted the All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil from 16 to 22 August. Warm up events such as Family Day, for people of all ages, were held on Sunday, 15th. After a break of fifty-six years Ireland’s national festival returned to Cavan keeping the town alive from morning to night with a feast of traditional Celtic music, dance, poetry, concerts, exhibitions, charity events and numerous competitions for thousands of performers. In multiple venues within and around the town, music, song and craic poured forth to the thousands of visitors (...)
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