On the 16th of June 2016, at the Presidential Palace in Valletta, Maria Manuela dos Santos Lucas presented her credentials to the President of Malta Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca.
During the ceremony the President of Malta and the High Commissioner discussed bilateral relations.
Maria Manuela dos Santos Lucas is a career diplomat who has promoted the foreign policy and diplomacy of The Republic of Mozambique throughout her service in various countries where she served, and through her participation in numerous important conferences, seminars and symposiums around the world.
Prior to her appointment as the High Commissioner of the Republic of Mozambique to the Republic of Malta, she served, from 2011 to 2015, as Director of National Office of the National Authorizing Officer for the Cooperation between Mozambique and European Union, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Before, from 2003-2011, she had also served as Ambassador of Mozambique to the Kingdom of Belgium, the Kingdom of Netherlands, and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, and as Head of Mission of the Republic of Mozambique to the European Union.
Maria Manuela Lucas also served as the Consul of the Republic of Mozambique in Cape Town, South Africa, and from 1999-2003, she was Director for the Division for International Organizations and Conferences at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation. As Director for this division, she was a member of various Mozambican Delegations to International Conferences under various international organizations including the United Nations, African Union, Commonwealth, SADC, European Union, UNESCO, and others.