Presentation of Credentials, 19 December 2019

The following foreign Heads of Mission presented their credentials to President Halimah Yacob in separate ceremonies at the Istana today:

(a) The Ambassador of the Republic of Costa Rica

       His Excellency Victor Hugo Rojas Gonzalez

(b) The Ambassador of the State of Qatar

His Excellency Saoud Bin Jassim Mohammed Al Jufairi

(c) The Ambassador of the Republic of Estonia

      Her Excellency Katrin Kivi

 Their bio summaries are attached.     

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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

SINGAPORE 

19 December 2019

VÍCTOR HUGO ROJAS GONZÁLEZ

AMBASSADOR TO SINGAPORE

REPUBLIC OF COSTA RICA

González is a historian expert in International Affairs and Political Communication. He has advised Presidents Miguel Angel Rodríguez (Costa Rica), Abel Pacheco (Costa Rica), Enrique Bolaños (Nicaragua), Manuel Zelaya (Honduras), and Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (Peru). He has also advised State Ministers.

González is an expert with over 25 years of experience in strengthening the electoral processes of international political organizations in Latin America and Central Asia, including Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Bolivia, Ecuador, Argentina, Peru and Tajikistan.

He served as Resident Director of the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) for Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador. He is an expert in the application of new surveillance technologies and also has been a consultant for projects under Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES). Gonzalez has worked with consulting firms Greenberg, Quinlan Rosner, and the Albright Stonebridge Group. Finally, he  was also an advisor to the Coalition of First Ladies and Women Leaders of Latin America on Women and AIDS.

González is married to Argentine Maria del Carmen Ortega Guillen.

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SAOUD BIN JASSIM MOHAMMED AL JUFAIRI

AMBASSADOR TO SINGAPORE

STATE OF QATAR

Ambassador Al Jufairi has more than three decades of experience in the public sector. Prior to his current appointment, he was the Chairman of the Committee for the Follow-up on Official Visits, Office of the Minister of State, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Ambassador Al Jufairi began his career in the Ministry of Business and Trade (now Ministry of Commerce and Industry) in 1981, where he served in various capacities, including as Director of the Economic Affairs Department from 2002 to 2009 and Economic Advisor of the Office of the Minister of Business and Trade from 2010 to 2017. Ambassador Al Jufairi joined the Qatar Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2017, where he was awarded the rank of Ambassador.

Ambassador Al Jufairi obtained his Bachelor of Science (Political Science & Social Science) from Warner Pacific University, Oregon, USA. In 1991, he graduated from Gulf University, Bahrain with a Master of Science (Integrated Development & Economic Planning).

Ambassador Al Jufairi is married with three sons and three daugthers.

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KATRIN KIVI

AMBASSADOR TO SINGAPORE

REPUBLIC OF ESTONIA

Since September 2019, Ms Katrin Kivi has been the Ambassador of the Republic of Estonia to India, with residence in New Delhi. She is concurrently accredited to Singapore, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal.

Ms Kivi started her career at the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1993. She has served as Director for Asia, ASEM and ASEAN, Deputy Head of Mission at the Estonian Embassy in France, Deputy Permanent Representative of Estonia to UNESCO in Paris and Director for EU General Affairs in Tallinn.

More recently, Ms Kivi served as Estonian Permanent Representative to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg and prior to that, as Ambassador of Estonia to Denmark.

Ms Kivi has a Master’s degree in German Language and Literature, and has two adult sons.

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