On 5 and 6 February 2015, the director and staff of the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs´ Levan Mikeladze Centre for diplomatic training visited the Clingendael Institute for a study visit of two days. Together with six members of the Clingendael Academy, they reviewed new trends and developments in diplomacy, and they are incorporated into diplomatic training programs; the role of interactive exercises in diplomatic training, the delivery of skills seminars in international negotiations and intercultural communication, and the Academy’s approach to course evaluations and curriculum development.

Clingendael has a long history of training diplomats from Georgia, as well as other states from the Southern Caucasus and the broader post-Soviet region. Initiated in the early nineties as a form of support to ongoing transition, diplomats from Georgia have participated in training programs at Clingendael for the nearly 25 years since.

Yet with the establishment of the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ new diplomatic training centre in 2012, and the recent, EU-supported drive to build additional capacity on diplomatic training for Georgia, this bilateral cooperation is being taken to the next level. To signify the Clingendael Academy´s and the Centre’s partnership and willingness to cooperate, even investing in diplomatic training capacity, Levan Mikeladze director Ms. Maia Kipshidze and Clingendael Academy director Mr. Ron Ton signed a MoU between the two institutes, with the Georgian ambassador to the Netherlands, H.E. Mr. Konstantine Surguladze, attending the ceremony.

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            Group photo in front of the Clingendael Institute

6 February 2015