Yekaterina Mayering-Mikadze, who presented a copy of her credentials to Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, is the current Georgian ambassador to Kuwait. She also represents her country in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain and the UAE.
Ambassador Yekaterina said that cooperation with the Gulf states was a “paramount task” for Georgia, especially in agriculture, real estate, tourism and finance.
Georgia, a former Soviet republic nation that became independent in 1991 and admitted to the UN as its 179th member after a year, now has the distinction of sending the first female ambassador to Riyadh.
“She is waiting for an audience with Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah to present her credentials after presenting a copy to Prince Saud,” a report said. Arab News tried to reach Yekaterina in Kuwait, but she was unavailable. “Only a few diplomats in the Saudi capital are female,” said Ulla-Maija Nevalainen, deputy chief of the mission at the Finnish Embassy in Riyadh. Nevalainen said that she herself had no problems in handling her job as a diplomat in the capital.
The number of women diplomats in Riyadh will not exceed six or seven, claimed another diplomat, while expressing his happiness over Mayering-Mikadze’s appointment. “Worldwide efforts to bring more women into diplomacy are having a limited effect,” he said, claiming that developing countries have the fewest number of women diplomats.
The US has recently posted Susan L. Ziadeh as deputy chief of the US mission in Riyadh.
The US has allowed women to become diplomats since 1922, with UK and Canada allowing women into their foreign services since 1940.
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