Recently, the closing of the training course for the newly appointed ambassadors from the Dominican Republic was celebrated. Taking place entirely online, this tailor-made training programme served to support the skills development of the participants and to strengthen bilateral relations between the Dominican Republic and the Netherlands. 

The three-day training programme focused on negotiation skills as a central competence that is necessary to represent their country effectively abroad – whether it is in relation to trade negotiations with partner countries or internal negotiations within the Ministry. In order to underpin the strategic concepts in international negotiations gained throughout the course with practical skills, this training made use of several innovative and interactive e-learning instruments. Some of the key elements of the training included:

• Enhancing the participants knowledge and skills on foundational concepts, types and strategies of negotiation through interactive simulations and role-play exercises
• In-depth insights into the specific challenges and opportunities of online negotiations
• Sharing of views and experiences between ambassadors on bilateral and multilateral negotiations in different international fora, such as the United Nations

All of the participants welcomed this training as particularly valuable, being just weeks before their deployment  and stating that it refreshed and reinforced their knowledge of negotiation. Especially in times of COVID-19, new skills – such as on online negotiations – were considered timely and very relevant for their upcoming duties.