Officers Receive Diploma in Diplomacy

A total of 43 Administrative and Diplomatic Officers from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Prime Minister’s Department completed their Diploma in Diplomacy (DiD) from the Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations (IDFR) this year.

The 43 officers received their Diploma from the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Y.B. Dato’ Kamarudin Jaffar, at a graduation ceremony held at the Hilton Kuala Lumpur on 3 December 2021.

This year’s ceremony is unique as IDFR has proudly embraced digital diplomacy and successfully organised two sessions of the DiD in a year through the hybrid approach.

Also present at the event were senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Prime Minister’s Department, lecturers of the programme and family members of the graduating officers.

The DiD is a flagship programme of IDFR with the objective of equipping junior officers with the essential knowledge and skills to be effective diplomats. Successful completion of the programme is a prerequisite for junior officers prior to their first posting abroad. The participants underwent specially designed modules which included Diplomacy and International Relations, Diplomatic Skills as well as Management Services. Strong emphasis was also given to English Language skills. On top of that, the participants were also required to learn a foreign language, either Arabic, French, German, Mandarin, Russian or Spanish.

For 2021, the DiD programme was held in two cohorts. The first cohort of DiD programme was held from 2 November 2020 to 7 May 2021 with 21 participants. Meanwhile, the second cohort took place from 1 June 2021 to 2 December 2021 with 22 participants.

Despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO) earlier this year, lectures were conducted through online platforms to ensure the continuity of the programme. Physical sessions of the programme were conducted with strict adherence to the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) set forth by the Ministry of Health.

During the ceremony, three officers from each DiD cohort were honoured with the respective awards, namely the Minister of Foreign Affairs’ Award for Overall Best Student, the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Award for Outstanding Leadership and the Director-General of IDFR’s Award for Academic Achievement.

“IDFR expresses its heartiest congratulations to the newest batch of DiD graduates on their achievements during the course. We hope that future diplomats will continue to defend and safeguard Malaysia’s sovereignty and advance its national interests.”