OSCE supports set up of Armenia's first diplomatic school

Armenia's new diplomatic school opened doors to its first 27 students in February. The school, created by the Armenian Foreign Ministry with the support of the OSCE and the European Union, is the first and only initiative in Armenia to provide comprehensive professional training for future diplomats. Targeted at postgraduate students, the 9-month course is taught by prominent local and international trainers. It is expected that the top students will be offered employment by the Armenian Foreign Ministry.

"From my own experience in the diplomatic service I am fully aware of the importance such a school plays in a country's capacities to establish and uphold good relations with its international partners," wrote OSCE Secretary General Marc Perrin de Brichambaut in a letter to Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian on the school's opening. "The importance of such relations for ensuring security, stability and prosperity in our regions should never be underestimated."

In addition to helping identify trainers for the school and assisting in developing the curriculum, the OSCE Office provided equipment for the computer lab. It also provided support in the process of selecting applicants.

From training courses to a permanent institution

The idea of the establishment of a diplomatic educational institution in Armenia goes back to 2006 when the OSCE Office organized targeted training for the staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs within the framework of a training programme for parliamentary staff. The project initially moved forward as periodic short-term training courses for the Ministry's staff. To address the needs of the Armenian Foreign Ministry, the Office proposed to institutionalize the training opportunities by creating a formal school that would prepare a pool of qualified potential diplomats.

As a next step, the OSCE Office in Yerevan in 2008 commissioned a needs assessment which was conducted by a team of scholars from the Hamburg-based research institute CORE (Centre for OSCE Research).

"Our Centre's involvement started with the early conceptual phase," says Frank Evers, the deputy head of CORE. "Two extensive consultancy visits to Yerevan gave us the opportunity to talk to more than two dozen Armenian and international representatives who were interested in the project - from Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian to diplomats and academicians. We hope our Needs Assessment Report of May 2008 and the detailed recommendations of our Summary Report of January 2009 were a solid help for those who actually set up the school over the recent months. We think it is an excellent idea to transfer international experience to the future generations of diplomats particularly in a region like the South Caucasus."

The team came up with a number of recommendations and suggestions, including on the status and functions of the school, identification of the training and professional capacity-building needs, potential courses and management schemes.

In an official exchange of letters between the Armenian Foreign Ministry and the OSCE Office CORE recommendations were accepted as a basis for developing an action plan for the establishment of a diplomatic school in Armenia.

In 2010, a task force, involving the OSCE Office, the European Commission and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was set up to design the initial courses and identify the administrative and logistical modalities of the school.

Curriculum, trainers, participants

The syllabus covers Armenian foreign policy, the theory and history of diplomacy, international law and trade regulations, and concepts of international relations. The course also includes European integration, Armenia's relations with its neighbours, as well as, with international organizations. Major global problems, like poverty, ecology and terrorism will also be in the focus of discussions in the school.

The second part of the course develops practical skills, and includes simulation exercises on international negotiations, political analysis, diplomatic protocol, public speaking and presentation skills and study visits to state institutions and foreign embassies.

Ambassador Vladimir Kazimirov, a seasoned Russian diplomat and a former Co-Chair of the Minsk Group involved in peace mediation of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, was among the first trainers of the school. "For Armenia, as a country with wide foreign policy horizons, the preparation of professional diplomatic staff is very important," he says. "I consider creation of such a school in Armenia as a natural step by the Armenian authorities since the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, relations with its neighbours - Turkey, Iran, Russia - all these aspects oblige the Armenians to think about professionally qualified specialists."

Other trainers are scholars from Slovakia, Estonia, Finland, Switzerland, Lithuania, the United States and elsewhere. Lectures by the ambassadors of local diplomatic missions are also planned, including Ambassador Sergey Kapinos, Head of the OSCE Office in Yerevan, and throughout the year students will have the opportunity to meet high-level officials visiting Armenia.

"We are very pleased that our long-standing and close co-operation with the Armenian authorities has lead to such a tangible result," says Ambassador Kapinos. "We believe that the diplomatic school will become a centre of excellence and a long-term investment in the future of Armenia."