Dear Madame, Sir,

I have been working in the Egyptian Foreign Service since 1999, during
which I have been posted to the Embassies in Hungary, Slovakia, Russia and now
serving in Ukraine, as Deputy Egyptian Ambassador in Kiev. As a career
diplomat, the core of my profession is external relations and outreaching with a
vast array of interlocutors. I deal, on an expert level, with global affairs, naturally
with a focus on the MENA region, in all its dimensions, as well as administration,
coordination with peers and high officials, and reporting to headquarters.
As far as the offered vacancy is concerned, during the past 17 years of my
diplomatic service, I have advised senior officials on policies, and have been
extensively in-charge of preparing official statements, talking-points, position
papers, strategies on management, administrative, financial and budget issues and
project implementation. My mandate also includes communicating with various
government and international institutions, as well as with national parliaments. I
represented my government at various international conferences, and delivered
official statements. This experience was very enriching in developing my
management as well as my multilateral, diplomatic, communications and
negotiation skills.
I have acquired experience in public speaking, communicating, report writing
and official correspondence, and am too highly interested and capable of policy
analysis and assessment as well as formulating positions on international affairs
and complex issues. I have not only studied international relations from all its
perspectives; conceptual, legal, cultural, etc, but have many years of real and
dynamic experience in participating and organizing international workshops,
conferences and summits.
I would also like to stress on my strong managerial skills and my long
experience in my almost two decade long career in external relations, protocol,
liaison, planning, communication and coordination, as well as dealing with high
officials and representatives from different states. In this specific context, I have
a deep understanding and knowledge of diplomacy and humanitarian issues in
both theory and practice. Diplomacy is all about coordination of political,
economic, and humanitarian issues through communication, negotiation,
engagement and outreach in order to reach certain goals through
building/fostering relations with different interlocutors.
My experience in Ukraine over the past four years, particularly since the 2013
revolution and the ongoing humanitarian and political crisis connected to the
conflict in Eastern Ukraine has raised my awareness and understanding of the
inter-connectivity between peacemaking, conflict resolution and sustainable
development. As a senior-level Arab diplomat and academic, I have tremendous
experience in research and report writing, strategic analysis of developments in
global affairs, and particularly related to the Arab world and the Middle East. I
could definitely capitalize on this in shaping and delivering your distinguished
organizations mandate and agenda in the dynamic and challenging region.
I wish to highlight that I spent two years (2009-2011) studying the topic of
migration and refugees in the MENA region in its different dimensions and have
dealt extensively with this issue. Coming from a Middle-Eastern country, I
focused my thesis on the phenomenon of migration across the Mediterranean,
with special attention on development, human trafficking, migration, refugees
and human rights. My PhD thesis was on the impact of Egypts revolution on its
foreign policy, with a focus on the Arab-Spring ramifications in the region.
I would also like to underline my operational skills, in both planning and
implementation, especially being acting head of mission and head of
administration on numerous occasions over the past years. As Deputy Chief of
Mission, I hire, coach and supervise staff, plan and monitor the implementation
of the Embassy's budgets, and ensure a high level of performance, within a time-
efficient and harmonized team-work environment. During the past years, I have
also handled the day to day running of the Embassies in Slovakia and Kiev,
including procurement, concluding and renegotiating rental agreements, and
purchasing of new premises.
I do feel, with all modesty, that my professional and academic credentials,
would recommend me as an eligible candidate for this challenging post, and
believe I will be able to efficiently make use of my experience at Secours
Islamique France.
With my best regards, thanking you in advance, I remain, Sincerely Yours,
Dr. Sherif Shehata