SESRIC organized in partnership with the Diplomacy Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey a Training Course on “Digital Diplomacy for the OIC Junior Diplomats” on 14-17 September 2020 through a video conferencing platform. The training course was attended by 81 young diplomats from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of 29 OIC member countries.

The primary focus of the training course was to provide knowledge on the relationship between digital diplomacy and foreign policy objectives, as well as to identify the process of developing and monitoring effective digital diplomacy strategies. The training course was delivered by renowned experts to provide the OIC junior diplomats with the opportunity to enhance their understanding and knowledge of the practical implications of digital diplomacy on their policy fields.

The opening session of the programme was attended by H.E. Mr. Yavuz Selim KIRAN, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, H.E. Mr. Nebil DABUR, Director General of SESRIC, H.E. Amb. Ahmed Sareer, Director of Asia, Peace, and Security Unit at the General Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and H.E. Prof. Dr. Mesut ÖZCAN, Director of the Diplomacy Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey.

In his speech in the opening session, H.E. Mr. Yavuz Selim KIRAN, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, emphasized the active role of Turkey in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and its important contribution to the cause of Palestine as the principal issue of the Organisation. Furthermore, H.E. Mr. KIRAN briefed the audience on the role of digital diplomacy during the COVID-19 pandemic and specifically highlighted the active role of the Diplomacy Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey through the organization of various virtual meetings in cooperation with different institutions and governments.

H.E. Mr. Nebil DABUR, Director General of SESRIC, addressed the participants by emphasizing the importance of this year’s theme on “Digital Diplomacy” as an issue of high interest to the OIC diplomatic community and for the OIC junior diplomats to be more effective in their current and future roles.

The message of H.E. Dr. Yousef Al-Othaimeen, Secretary General of the OIC was delivered by H.E. Amb. Ahmed SAREER, Director of Asia, Peace, and Security Unit at the General Secretariat of the OIC. The message lauded the efforts of SESRIC and the Diplomacy Academy of Turkey in organizing this training course and highlighted the importance of the training course’s theme as it deals with a crucial aspect of diplomacy that junior diplomats have to be familiar with in a changing world.

H.E. Prof. Dr. Mesut ÖZCAN used his speech in the opening session to welcome the participants and briefed the audience on the initiatives of the Diplomacy Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey in training junior diplomats as well as the personnel of foreign affairs ministries from all categories and ranks.

The 2020 Training Course on Digital Diplomacy for the OIC Junior Diplomats was organised within the framework of SESRIC’s Diplomacy Capacity Building Programme (Diplomacy – CaB), which was initiated in 2017 with the aim to enhance junior diplomats’ diplomatic skills, help them acquire the necessary knowledge about the OIC and assist their understanding of the major regional and international issues.

The 2020 Training Course marked the fourth edition of SESRIC’s annual Diplomacy Capacity Building Programme, which hosts prominent representatives from the General Secretariat of the OIC, OIC institutions, international organisations, renowned experts, practitioners and academicians who contribute to the programme by delivering training on various issues of relevance to the OIC diplomatic community.

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