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The year of 2007 was the beginning of the Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academyâ€™s practical activity

03 January 2008 10:17 (UTC +04:00)

The year of 2007 was the beginning of the Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academyâ€™s practical activity. Although a number of events were held in 2006, the first systematic training courses within the Academy took place starting from the early 2007.

This year, ADA has organized and implemented a 5-months long training course for the 24 new recruits of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The course included 2-month long intensive English language training; field visits to the regions of Azerbaijan (IDP camps, military units, cultural and historic sites, Sangachal terminal) as well as various state agencies; lectures, presentations and discussions on the topic of Contemporary International Affairs, International Trade and Petroleum Economics, Speech and Report Writing, State Protocol, Consular Affairs and Diplomatic Correspondence; Public International Law and International Organizations, region of North East Asia (China, Korea, Japan); as well as 5 weeks long internship at the selected embassies of Azerbaijan abroad. This program was done in cooperation with Turkish MFA, Norwegian MFA, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (USA), Vienna Diplomatic Academy, Korean Institute for Security and International Relations, MGIMO, College of Europe (Belgium).

In addition to this training program for the new recruits, ADA has launched Foreign Service Training Program for the junior and mid-career diplomats of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Regular monthly training courses were held in cooperation with Georgetown University, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Geneva Institute of International Affairs, Marshall Center for Security Studies, and Norwegian MFA on various topics and issues, important for the day-to-day operations of the Ministry. Leadership Development was a particular focus of these trainings. The representatives of various state agencies have also participated in these courses.

In July, a Summer School for the diplomats and general public on the topic of EU Policy and Law, in cooperation with the European University Institute (Italy) was held. 40 participants, including five from Georgia, ten from various European countries and five from Turkey, took part in it.

During the whole year, ADA has built strong partnership links with various universities, centers and diplomatic academies from all over the world. Cooperation agreements were signed with Croatian Diplomatic Academy, MGIMO, diplomatic academies of the countries- members of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization (BSEC) and Norwegian Diplomatic Institute. ADA representatives participated in the annual meeting of the Diplomatic Academies in Mozambique, Africa.

More than 20 prominent foreign and local politicians, public opinion makers and academics have made guest presentations at the Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy during the year.

Finally, ADA has established a Research Center, with the international Advisory Board, which includes prominent scholars from the US, Europe, Asia and Middle East with the goal of providing state of the art publications and research products on the region in an effort to influence the public decision making process.

In addition to these activities, ADA has worked towards its bigger goal of setting up Graduate School of International Affairs, aimed to be a world-class, fully integrated and globally competitive school with two year long Masters Degree in International Affairs. It is expected that the degree program will start in 2009. /APA/