By Staff Reporter
Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation (MIRCO) is set to open a Diplomatic Academy at the University of Namibia for diplomats.
This was revealed by the Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ms.Jenelly Matundu , during Namibia Diplomatic Academy Workshop held on Tuesday.
She said that on 21st March 1990 Namibia was born as a new nation with the new constitution that ushered in a new fundamental legal order of the country, the legal order that defines the parameter for engagement seeking to balance the needs of the nation and those of the international community.
“Article 96 of the Namibian constitution provides clear guidelines on how our policy on international relations should be conducted” explained Matundu.
She added that the Ministry’s vision is to be a prosperous, economically competitive and globally respectable country.
The mission of the proposed Diplomatic Academy is to promote, and protect Namibia’s national interest and image globally by enhancing core competencies and professionalism among Namibian diplomats and by promoting quality training services in the field of diplomacy, internationally and economic relation against the global high performance culture.
International Relations and Cooperation’s Deputy Minister added that over the years new issues have come to the fore, such as the environment, blue economy, human trafficking, piracy and cyber crime as issues that did not feature prominently on the global agenda.
“Today these issues have become prominent and we have to align ourselves with the international community in addressing what have become major challenges threatening international peace and security
The establishment of this academy is especially timely as Covid-19 pandemic continues to put a strain on the conduct of diplomacy and hampering from people to people engagement that cannot be replaced by virtual meetings”
April 12, 2022 MIRCO and the University of Namibia signed a Memorandum of Understanding to cooperate in the field of education, training and research in international relations and diplomacy.
The MoU opens doors for collaboration in the academic training and research fields to enhance the professional skills of foreign practitioners in the field of foreign policy, economic diplomacy and political analysis to geo-political situation, international law and consensus building.
“We are proud to partner with UNAM one of the leading institutions of higher learning in the country on such important strategic goal of the Ministry” She stressed.
The diplomatic academy will provide much-needed skills and capacity building to grow the country’s Foreign Service into compatible workforce for the 21st century and beyond to ensure that staff are equipped to understand and adapt to the changing global environment.
The academy will also enhance new conceptual thinking and develop applicable frameworks to measure Namibia’s influence on the environmental arena. Regionally the academy will contribute to fostering intellectual collaboration among countries both regionally and internationally.
Matundu thanked locals and international partners, civil society and other stakeholders who have given and continue to give their valuable support in this important initiative.
“We look forward to engaging more of our developmental partners as the academy moves grow”
The Deputy Ministry appreciated good wok carried out by members of the Namibian Former Ambassador Association, MIRCO Senior Officials and UNAM team in compiling the draft of curriculum of the diplomatic academy.
“One key area I wish to bring to the attention of this workshop is the streamlining of our diplomatic mission aboard in line with our policy on international relations and cooperation which exacerbated by COVID-19 and as such, our Foreign Service practitioners are encouraged to become multi-skilled”
Minister Matundu recalled the first Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Theo-Ben Gurirub now deceased, who impressed on the need for improved diplomatic training to have Foreign Service personnel who will be thoroughly competent, loyal and professional who will enable Namibia to exert an international presence and influence in the interest of the Namibian government and its people.
The objective of Namibia Diplomatic Academy is to support and develop skills while building the capability required in maintaining a word-class foreign service.
The workshop was attended by; Vice Chancellor of the University of Namibia and President of the Pan-African University Prof. Kenneth Matengu, Executive Director in the Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation Amb. Penda Naanda, Esteemed NAFA members and many other invited guests.
Loading …