Institute of Diplomacy’s Executive Director delivers lecture at Saudi institute

The Executive Director of the Institute of Diplomacy, Dr. Shaikha Muneera bint Khalifa Al Khalifa, delivered a lecture at the Prince Saud Al Faisal Institute for Diplomatic Studies in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. 

During the lecture, the Executive Director of the Institute of Diplomacy praised the historic brotherly relations between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, noting that bilateral ties are constantly developing and flourishing at all levels, stressing distinctiveness of their relations. 

Dr. Shaikha Muneera bint Khalifa Al Khalifa also reviewed the Kingdom of Bahrain’s experience in training junior diplomats, through the programmes that shape future diplomats, which are enhanced by modern mechanisms in theoretical and practical training.

She added that these programmes reflect the vision of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, and entrusts the Institute of Diplomacy with a huge responsibility and challenges it to prepare a well experienced diplomatic generation, one that represents the Kingdom in the best way possible, defends the Kingdom and affirms its regional and international presence at all international forums by using the Institute’s diplomatic programmes in negotiation, analysis, public speaking, rules of international relations, debating, dispute settlement and international law. 

She also emphasised the importance of fully familiarising diplomats with history and its branches, as history depends on sequence and repetition and thus plants the seeds of political analysis in diplomats, as well as encourages observing developments with a different perspective, anticipating events and the right reaction to incidents, all of which commits diplomats to the responsibility of constantly following-up of international events, especially that we now live in a rapidly changing world, which further requires our collective awareness and unity. 

The Executive Director of the Institute of Diplomacy expressed that preserving historical heritage is an integral part of diplomacy, recalling the Ministry’s celebration of 50 Years of Diplomacy recently. She also noted that this is a main component of the diplomatic identity, especially during official representations at embassies, consulates, and missions.

She also affirmed that all junior diplomats follow this perspective when they are representing their countries and should expose themselves to different cultures by reading about their histories, civilisations, and evolution through time. She added that learning different languages in an important factor in building communication bridges with others. 

She also stressed the image represented by the Arab Gulf diplomat abroad as it is among their duty to ensure that the world is enlightened with their national cultural heritage, which is reflected on many political, economic, social and cultural levels. She further added that each and every Gulf State has contributed to the Arab library with specialised publications, which remain, until today, a main reference in obtaining expertise and knowledge, in addition to being exported to international universities’ libraries. 

Dr. Shaikha Muneera bint Khalifa Al Khalifa called for the concerted efforts of world diplomatic academies and institutes to further advance theories on diplomats training, in order to preserve the current assets and achieve the aspirations that live up to the international diplomats qualification standards in different international curriculums, which contribute to expanding the environment of experiences and practices that are compatible with young competencies and their ability to absorb and apply them with full proficiency, to reach a modern and qualitative training structure.