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International Herald Tribune publishes article about Azerbaijani Diplomatic Academy

13 July 2007 10:02 (UTC +04:00)

â€œHoping to drum up business for its non-oil sector, and to improve its image, Azerbaijan has more than doubled its diplomatic presence abroad since 2004, opening 32 new embassies in the last three years in capitals from Athens to Tokyo,â€ says the article about Azerbaijan Foreign Ministryâ€™s Diplomatic Academy published in the International Herald Tribune, APA reports.
â€œBut now the country faces another problem: not enough diplomats to staff the missions. Which is why, after 13 years as Azerbaijan’s ambassador to the United States, Hafiz Pashayev has found himself with an unexpected second career: running the country’s first academy for aspiring diplomats. The state-run Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy opened in March with the goal of training its recruits in a Western-style diplomacy new to this country. The idea is to quickly staff Azerbaijan’s empty embassies, fast-tracking aspiring diplomats who would normally work their way up as Foreign Ministry staffers. Georgetown University and the Germany-based George Marshall European Center for Security Studies have already sent professors and a former U.S. ambassador, William Hill, a diplomat with broad experience in the region, to lead training sessions on topics ranging from negotiation skills to terrorism. Pashayev says the government is watching the diplomatic academy with interest as a pilot model for future academies in other fields. With this in mind, the academy plans to introduce a two-track curriculum, supplementing the diplomatic program with a master’s program in international affairs designed to attract talented Azeris and students from nearby countries like Turkey and Russia,â€ the article says. /APA/