The High Commissioner of Canada Alexandra Bugailiskis presented her credentials to President of Malta Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca at the Presidential Palace in Valletta.
During the ceremony, the President of Malta and the High Commissioner discussed bilateral relations.
Alexandra Bugailiskis earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Carleton University in 1979, as well as a Master of Arts degree in International Affairs from the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs in 1992. She joined the Department of External Affairs in 1982 and has served as: Ambassador to Syria between 1997 and 2000, as High Commissioner to Cyprus between 1998 and 2000, as Ambassador to Cuba between 2003 and 2007, and Ambassador to Poland between 2013 and 2015.
In Ottawa, Ambassador Bugailiskis has held a number of senior positions. She was Director General of the Latin America and the Caribbean Bureau between 2000 and 2002, Executive Director of the International Policy Framework Task Force in the Privy Council Office between 2002 and 2003, and Assistant Deputy Minister and Executive Coordinator of the Americas Strategy Secretariat between 2007 and 2008. She also served as Assistant Deputy Minister for Latin America and the Caribbean between 2008 and 2010. In 2010, she became Executive Coordinator of the Inter-American Development Bank Business Opportunities Task Force and served concurrently as distinguished senior fellow and public servant in residence at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs. In 2011, she began serving as Chief Negotiator for the Canada-European Union Strategic Political Partnership Agreement, while in 2015, she took on the role of Assistant Deputy Minister for Europe, the Middle East, the Maghreb and Circumpolar Affairs.
She is the recipient of awards for distinguished service for her work on Namibian independence, the Summit of the Americas, the response to the Haitian earthquake and, most recently, the settlement of Syrian refugees.