Ioanna Sahas Martin - Ambassador of Canada to Costa Rica and Ambassador-designate to Honduras and Nicaragua

Message

It is a great honour and privilege to serve as Canada’s Ambassador of Canada to Costa Rica and Ambassador-designate to Honduras and Nicaragua. Our Embassy website provides important information on our active engagement in these three countries and the region.

Canada and Costa Rica enjoy longstanding ties, with shared values of peace, respect for human rights and the rule of law at the core of our strong bilateral relationship. Costa Rica is also an important partner in international fora including the Organization of American States, the United Nations and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Our two countries share a commitment to protecting civil space, recognizing that a vibrant civil society is a vital part of a healthy democracy. For this reason, Canada supports initiatives to promote gender equality and address challenges for the 2SLGBTQI+ community, Indigenous and Afro-descendent peoples, migrants and other vulnerable members of society. Significant numbers of Canadians choose to travel to Costa Rica to explore and enjoy its natural beauty and protected environment. Our open economies benefit from progressive and inclusive trade, thanks to the 2002 Free Trade Agreement.

Canada and Honduras enjoy a positive relationship and we seek new opportunities to expand our collaboration. Canada’s largest development program in Central America is in Honduras, with human rights at its core. Canada supports civil society engagement, promoting and advancing gender equality, sexual and reproductive health and rights, anti-corruption efforts and strengthening governance institutions to enhance the rule of law. I look forward to working with our team to advance policy dialogue and connections, including through new commercial opportunities broadened by the 2014 Canada Honduras Free Trade Agreement.

Canada also values its relationship with Nicaragua. We are proud to stand with the people of Nicaragua in their efforts to return to democracy, exercise their fundamental rights and find peaceful, democratic solutions. Canada will continue working with partners to provide humanitarian assistance, support dialogue and advocate for democratic principles and processes, including free and fair elections in Nicaragua.

The Canada Fund for Local Initiatives supports civil society through small-scale, high impact projects in all three countries.

Our passionate and dedicated Embassy team works hard to bring our countries closer together. Through this website and social media, we will share with you valuable information about our services and programs, as well as education and business opportunities that support our common goals of a more democratic, inclusive and peaceful hemisphere.

We are friends and neighbours – I welcome opportunities to deepen the engagement between our peoples and to collaborate with all our partners to strengthen democracy, human rights and civil society in the Americas.

Biography

Ioanna Sahas Martin (she/her/elle/ella) is Canada’s Ambassador of Canada to Costa Rica and Ambassador-designate to Honduras and Nicaragua. She joined Canada’s foreign ministry in 2001 and previously served as executive director of the Pan-Africa and Regional Development program and director of Natural Resources and Governance; International Assistance Research and Knowledge; Central America and Caribbean Relations and of the Haiti Development Program at Global Affairs Canada. Prior to 2013, she served as director of International Strategy and Donor Relations at the Canadian International Development Agency.

Before joining government, Ms. Sahas Martin served as membership relations manager at the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong. Ms. Sahas Martin is an accredited coach and served as a volunteer in the Ottawa community, including on the Board of Directors at Hospice Care Ottawa. She is an alumna of Carleton University (M.A., International Affairs, Development Studies, 1995) and of the University of Waterloo (Joint Honours B.A., French and Political Science, 1993). Ms. Sahas Martin is a first-generation Canadian of Greek and Puerto Rican descent.