The Institute of Diplomatic Studies (IDS) is, on behalf of the ministry, currently implementing the project, which will go a long way in helping government agencies and local think tanks to map out their own plans and policies.
Details of the body were disclosed by professor Abdulkarim H. Al-Dekhayel, the newly appointed IDS director general, here on Saturday. Al-Dekhayel, who gave an overview of IDS’ functions, said 20 IDS teaching faculty members will carry out policy analysis and prepare reports.
He said that IDS is an integral part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and carries out training, research, studies, seminars and workshops on its behalf.
He also spoke about various training programs run by IDS for new Saudi ambassadors, diplomats, their wives and family members. IDS caters to the training needs of diplomats at around 105 Saudi embassies and consulates across the world. It also runs several tailor-made programs for them, including an intensive daylong program on diplomacy and foreign affairs for newly appointed ambassadors.
Al-Dekhayel, who has a doctorate from the University of Exeter and was a visiting professor to Harvard University, said IDS had set up a separate facility in which the wives and family members of diplomats are given training and familiarization courses. He added that well-tailored language and culture courses, lessons in politics and international relations, computer skills, and general courses have been designed for Saudi diplomats and their spouses. He also said that IDS has set up four centers: the Center for Strategic Studies, the Center for American Studies, the Center for European Studies and the Center for Asian Studies. “All these centers will be linked to the new unit (the policy center) that will be mainly entrusted for policy analysis and information gathering,” said the IDS chief. Policy reports, he said, will be distributed among a large number of government agencies and diplomatic missions for which IDS had been working as an apex-training center.
“We have already published two policy reports, one about US policy in Iraq and another on US policy in Iran,” said Al-Dekhayel.
On the question of language teaching at the institute, he said that IDS plans to introduce the teaching of Russian in the near future. IDS, he said, has been teaching English, French and Spanish, and that plans are afoot to publish several titles related to culture and diplomacy.
He noted that IDS has been publishing four major journals, including “The Diplomat” in English and Arabic. Another recently published journal is a bilingual monthly magazine called “The Small Diplomat,” which is distributed in Saudi schools across the Kingdom to inculcate skills of diplomacy among children.
He said that IDS is also planning to hold four major conferences within six months from now on Kingdom’s relations with US, China, Turkey and Russia.
