MFA Press Statement: Presentation of Credentials, 28 December 2017

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
Her Excellency Iris Manzanares

(b) The Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
Her Excellency Roya Rahmani

Their bio summaries are appended.

. . . . .

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
SINGAPORE
28 DECEMBER 2017

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ROYA RAHMANI
AMBASSADOR TO SINGAPORE
ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF AFGHANISTAN

Ms Roya Rahmani is the first female Ambassador of Afghanistan to the Republic of Indonesia since diplomatic relations were established in 1955, and the first Ambassador of Afghanistan to be accredited to ASEAN.

Ms Rahmani has a diverse background as a diplomat, aid worker, management consultant and software engineer. Prior to her posting to Jakarta, Indonesia, she served as the first Director General for Regional Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan. She has also worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as the Senior Advisor to the Deputy Foreign Minister on Regional Affairs, and as a Senior Advisor at the Ministry of Education of Afghanistan.

Ms Rahmani has extensive experience in international relations and development, and has served in various capacities with the Joint Forces Training Centre of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), the New York City Department of Education, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights at the United Nations Secretariat in New York, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of Canada, the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development, and several civil society organisations.

She holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Columbia University and a Bachelor’s degree in Software Engineering from McGill University. Ms Rahmani has won several awards and fellowships and is a Fulbright Scholar.

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IRIS MANZANARES
AMBASSADOR TO SINGAPORE
REPUBLIC OF COSTA RICA

Mdm Manzanares comes from the private sector and has been residing in Singapore since 2015 as the Southeast Asia Correspondent of the Société des Amis of the Museé National d’Art Moderne Centre Pompidou. Prior to that she was the Head of International Relations for the Société des Amis of the Museé National d’Art Moderne Centre Pompidou in Paris from 2012 to 2015. From 2000 to 2005, she worked for the global government relations and communications firm Burson-Marsteller in London and Brussels as Senior Associate and Manager respectively.

Mdm Manzanares is a licensed lawyer from the University of Costa Rica and holds a Master’s degree in European Political and Administrative Studies from the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium. She is married to Mr Pierre-Louis Lempereur, a European Union diplomat. They have three children.