Ambassador sells a different Monaco story
Print Edition
CATHERINE Fautrier thinks being Monaco’s ambassador to China is the biggest achievement of her career.
The 45-year-old has been serving the Monaco government since graduation. Serving in that role since 2011, she is balancing career and family life. She recently visited Shanghai to promote the Monaco Week.
“This is my first position as a diplomat,” she says. “Sometimes I still ask myself, ‘Am I dreaming?’ China is such a big country with a long history, and compared with it I’m just a little girl.”
Fautrier says she started to get acquainted with China in 2007, when she began managing the Monaco Pavilion project for the World Expo 2010 Shanghai. During the six-month event she was the pavilion’s commissioner-general and she lived in Shanghai for a year.
“That experience was amazing,” she recalls. “In fact this time when I visited Shanghai, people asked ‘Do you remember what happened on your birthday that year?’ I of course remember that on October 16 that year, more than 1 million people visited the Expo site and it was spectacular.”
Fautrier says cooperation between China and Monaco became stronger because of the Expo, so since then she has had a soft spot for the city. And this time she’s coming back seeking more opportunities for both countries.
Spanning three days, the Monaco Week showcased the country’s numerous economic, tourism and yachting opportunities. It reportedly generated interest among China’s elite.
“We would like to impress our friends in China that Monaco is not just a glamorous place where you can find luxury hotels, cars and super yachts. It is also an international business hub with strengths in various niches,” Fautrier says.
She says many people misunderstand that Monaco’s economy solely depends on tourism and casinos. The country, tiny as it is, has cosmetics and high-tech industries and also dabbles in foreign trade.
“Through the Monaco Week, we have continued to build a strong bridge between China and Monaco. This is the first Monaco Week ever and our wish is to organize it every year in Shanghai,” she says.
Fautrier says Monaco is a very tolerant country with open-minded people. It is not involved in international disputes, and it is not in competition with China in any aspect.
“Our land only occupies 2.2 square kilometers, and we don’t have an army or natural resources, but we have a culture to embrace everything. For example, most people in Monaco can speak several different languages,” she says. “So it’s quite easy for people to go to the country and live there, raise children and develop their career. Monaco is like a gateway to Europe.”
In her opinion, Monaco and China have the potential to expand cooperation in the fields of environmental protection and new energy.
For example, the first Formula E race, supported by the Prince Albert II Foundation, is expected to take place in Beijing in September. The race of electric cars aims to promote new energy. Meanwhile, a solar impulse plane, also developed by the foundation, will stop in Nanjing, capital city of Jiangsu Province, during its world tour.
“I think this is what we can offer China and I believe cooperation will grow bigger and stronger,” she says.
After obtaining a master’s degree in international trade in 1992, Fautrier has worked in the economic field in the government.
During her term as deputy director of the Economic Development Chamber of Monaco, she organized trade and economic missions in Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and North America.
Besides, she also serves on commissions for women and family rights and the protection of women.
“Part of it is the family influence that I decided to work for the government,” she says. “My father was a minister for a long time in Monaco, and maybe it’s in my blood.”
Fautrier believes women have bigger advantages than disadvantages as diplomats.
“Women are more flexible than men when it comes to solving problems. And we usually don’t like conflict and don’t like arguing or wars,” she says. “When we face problems we tend to look for a peaceful solution and that’s why I think we do quite well on the diplomatic level.”
Fautrier flies between the two countries frequently. Her three children are still studying in Monaco.
“I think this would also be a good experience for them,” she says. “When I go back home I tell them my stories and they tell me theirs. It’s an eye-opener for them.”
Fautrier speaks French, her mother tongue, English, Spanish, Italian and a bit of German. She is now learning Mandarin.
She says she started to learn Mandarin during the Shanghai World Expo, but back then she didn’t have time to study systematically. Now she has a Mandarin teacher in Monaco. Although she doesn’t have much time to study, she is making progress.
“Learning Mandarin has developed into one of my hobbies after I started to work in China,” she says. “I believe that when you work in a country, you need to be part of its culture, so it’s very important to learn the language. Three hours a week (to learn Mandarin) is not enough but I’ll have more opportunities to speak the language in the future.”
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