Ambassador Sidikov started his career in business but quickly moved to the Institute for Strategic and Regional Studies under the President of Uzbekistan.

Ambassador Viorel became Ambassador to the United States in September 2022; prior to that he was Division Director Europe and Eurasia from January 2014 to August 2022. In earlier years he had served as Policy Analyst and Advisor to the Open Society Foundation in London and previously at the European Policy Institute in Brussels.  Prior to his oversees appointments, he was the Program Manager of the Soros Foundation.

We heard from Ambassador Luisa Fajer, Deputy Chief of Mission at the Mexican Embassy. Ambassador Fajer joined the Mexican Foreign Service in 1993 and was promoted to the rank of Ambassador in March 2018.

On 1 June 2022, we heard about Serbia, a Balkan country with a complex recent history which wants to join the EU. 

Ambassador Eric Rubin, President of the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) since 2019, spoke to us about “Challenges to American Diplomacy”-and there are many these days!

Ambassador Lazarus O. Amayo, told us about Kenya – the largest and most advanced economy in East and Central Africa and home to vast wildlife resources.

Ambassador Taranjit Singh Sandhu told us about India, a large country in South Asia which plays an increasingly important role in the region and the world.

Ambassador Kristjan Prikk told us about his homeland, Estonia.  It is a thriving Baltic Nation that has enthusiastically embraced democratic and economic links with the West.