The Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah said the role of the national government is declining in regards to the functionality of diplomacy.
The MIRCO minister and Deputy Prime Minister said this on Wednesday during the launch of the Namibia School of Diplomatic Studies at the University of Namibia (UNAM).
The school is housed in the Faculty of Commerce, Management and Law at UNAM, which will open for students when the university’s academic year starts in April.
It aims to engage junior and senior diplomats and other civil servants within Namibia and beyond through the signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the field of Education, Training and Research in International Relations and Diplomacy between UNAM and MIRCO.
Nandi-Ndaitwah said State actors, the private sector, religious groups, immigrants, media and other civil society entities are demanding from the government that their interests be taken into consideration and that they have a say in making and implementing foreign policy.
She stated that the functioning of diplomacy is influenced by a complicated combination of different interrelated factors.
“For example the end of the Cold War has radically changed the international political system, whose impact was also felt in Namibia. As a liberation movement, Swapo Party has aligned itself to the socialist ideology which has been followed by the [former] socialist Eastern Bloc,” she said.
Additionally, the deputy prime minister stated an important factor that makes the life of modern diplomacy difficult is its economic nature.
“Economic diplomacy is gradually taking over the traditional politics-oriented diplomacy. This is evident in our Policy on International Relations and Cooperation, where Economic Diplomacy is clearly outlined, which is also underscored in the National Development Plans and the Harambee Prosperity Plan II,” she said.
The school will offer credit bearing short courses such as Introduction to International Relations, Management of International Relations, Introduction of Namibia Foreign Policy, Diplomatic Protocol and Etiquette, International Law and Diplomacy.
These courses range from four to six weeks and will be offered in hybrid format, either block classes, distance and online.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency
