“Faces of Trade Diplomacy” was launched by Dr Clara Weinhardt, Assistant Professor at Maastricht University. Noticing that people often find it difficult to identify with highly technical trade topics, she came up with this photo project to emphasise the human aspect of trade negotiations.

Dr Weinhardt said: “Showing who the people are that sit at the negotiating table makes trade multilateralism more accessible to the public. The quotes that accompany the portraits provide a personal insight into the thoughts and feelings of the diplomats.”

The project was sponsored by the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences of Maastricht University and the German Research Foundation. It was undertaken in close collaboration with Chantelle Gomez, a British photographer based in Switzerland.