THE Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation plans to establish an academy to train Namibia's diplomats.
This was yesterday announced by the deputy minister of international relations and cooperation Jennely Matundu at the opening of the Namibian diplomatic academy workshop.
The country currently has 34 diplomatic missions, including three consulates.
Matundu said the diplomatic academy would provide much-needed skills and capacity building to grow the foreign service into a compatible workforce for the 21st century and beyond.
" . . . to ensure that our staff are equipped to withstand and adapt to the changing global environment," she said.
The country's diplomats will be completing qualifying, short practical and refresher courses.
"The academy would contribute to fostering intellectual collaboration among countries both regionally and internationally," Matundu said.
The workshop was hosted in collaboration with the University of Namibia.
In 2016 then deputy minister of international relations and cooperation, Maureen Hinda, announced that Namibian diplomats would soon be trained at an academy that specialises in diplomacy and international relations.
At the time, Hinda was officiating the third round of diplomatic consultation between Namibia and Portugal.
She said the diplomatic academy would be part of the Namibia Institute of Public Administration and Management (Nipam).
Hinda said Portugal had a well-established diplomatic institute run by their ministry of foreign affairs.
Last year the diplomats took part in their third training programme organised in line with the agreement signed in 2014 by an international diplomatic academy on cooperation.
Previously, the Foreign Service Institute of India hosted 20 local diplomats for two weeks to further hone their diplomatic skills in India.
The diplomats learned more about the standard tools of diplomacy, such as public speaking, diplomatic protocol, negotiation skills, diplomatic communication, multilateralism, international law, and economic diplomacy.
