Academic connections for the new generation of diplomats
As ORIENT previously reported, a delegation of the Institute of International Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan recently visited Bishkek, where representatives of the higher school of diplomacy of our country became guests of the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyzstan named after Kazy Dikimbaev.
We asked a member of the delegation, Professor of the Department of International Relations and Diplomacy of the IIR of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, Doctor of Sociological Sciences, Professor Ovezdurdy Muhammetberdiev, to share his impressions about this trip, talk about its goals and results.
– Developing relationships and lines of communication is a requirement for any diplomat working in the international arena. What role do these connections play in the academic environment?
“They help connect the next generation of diplomats, expanding the skillsets needed to address the challenges that today's students will one day face in their posts abroad.
Our trip to Bishkek took place as part of the implementation of the Cooperation Agreement concluded back in November 2014 between our institute and the Diplomatic Academy of the Kyrgyz Republic. The delegation consisted of only two people. The leadership of our institute was represented by Vice-Rector for Scientific Affairs Begench Myatliev, and I had the honor of representing the teaching staff.
– Will you briefly introduce the Academy itself that you visited?
– Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic named after K. Dikimbaev traces its history back to the opening in 1998 of the Center for Training and Advanced Training of Diplomatic Personnel at the International University of Kyrgyzstan. It was on the basis of this center that an independent higher educational institution with the status of an academy was created in 2001. The founder was the government of the republic represented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic is a state educational organization of higher, postgraduate and additional professional education. It carries out training of specialists, as well as retraining and advanced training of personnel, conducts fundamental and applied scientific research in the field of international relations.
The best forces of Kyrgyz diplomacy teach here, and many of them are honorary professors and people of science who have made an invaluable contribution to the development of diplomacy. As we were told, graduates of the academy head ministries and departments, occupy responsible positions in the public administration system and work in the largest Kyrgyz and international organizations. Many continue their education in leading scientific centers of the world.
– Will you tell us more about the program of your visit?
– The program of our visit consisted of three parts. The first is a meeting with rector of the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kyrgyz Republic Akylbek Kylychev. He especially emphasized that our visit to the Diplomatic Academy is a clear indicator of the implementation in practice of the Cooperation Agreement concluded between our educational institutions. He also noted the importance of further developing the partnership in the field of education and diplomacy between Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan.
At the same time, the venerable scientist and diplomat with extensive experience highly appreciated the foreign policy of our state, based on the philosophy of neutrality, in particular, he focused on the significant role Turkmenistan plays in maintaining security and developing mutually beneficial cooperation in the Central Asian region.
The second part of our visit was devoted to a detailed discussion of issues related to promising areas of our cooperation. The mutual desire to further strengthen academic and scientific exchange between our universities and organize joint events was confirmed.
In particular, my Kyrgyz colleagues and I exchanged views on the implementation of joint research projects, discussed formats for preparing collective scientific monographs, attracting professors and teachers of our universities as official opponents and reviewers of candidate and doctoral dissertations, holding joint scientific conferences and lectures for students by professors and teachers of our universities in online format, etc.
And in the final part of our visit, a round table was held, in which representatives of the teaching staff, students and undergraduates of the Diplomatic Academy took part. The moderator and main speaker was Vice-Rector for Scientific Work of the Diplomatic Academy, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor Zainiddin Karpekovich Kurmanov. His report was devoted to the research activities of the academy and its international cooperation.
I made a presentation on the foreign policy of Turkmenistan. The third report, dedicated to international economic relations of Kyrgyzstan, was made by Candidate of Economic Sciences, Associate Professor G. Alybaeva. The speakers in their speeches touched upon a wide range of opportunities for the future development of the two countries, assessed the positive dynamics in political-diplomatic, trade-economic and cultural-humanitarian cooperation between the Kyrgyz Republic and Turkmenistan, especially emphasizing the current level of partnership in all areas as high and constructive and progressive in nature.
After the presentations, students and teachers were given the opportunity to ask questions and discuss the presentations. The questions concerned not only the specific problems discussed in the reports, but also a wide range of modern international relations.
– What questions about Turkmenistan were asked by the round table participants?
– I was pleased to try to answer a number of questions asked of me, and asked with keen interest. They were connected with the history of Turkmen neutrality, with the benefits of neutral status for Turkmenistan in building its international relations. There were also questions about our “green” energy, about the initiatives of Turkmenistan, which have received universal recognition by the world community, questions about what the Turkmen and Kyrgyz peoples have in common, and others.
– What useful things did you learn from this trip to Bishkek in terms of sharing experiences?
– There is a lot to learn from our Kyrgyz colleagues. In particular, I would like to note their extensive experience in research activities. The scientific activity of professors of the Diplomatic Academy is not limited only to the preparation and publication of monographs, textbooks, teaching aids and scientific and methodological developments. In addition, the Academy is actively involved in preparing extensive review and analytical materials with relevant recommendations for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other government bodies of its republic; it regularly publishes its Diplomatic Yearbook.
The Academy staff carries out comprehensive monographic research on such interesting topics as: “History of diplomacy of the nomads of Central Asia”, “Trends in the development of modern international relations and the tasks of professional diplomacy”, “History of Kyrgyz public diplomacy”.
The Academy successfully operates its own doctoral and postgraduate courses, trains scientists with a PhD (doctoral degree), and has its own specialized council for awarding academic degrees of doctor and candidate of sciences in historical and political sciences.
Another and very interesting project successfully implemented by the Diplomatic Academy of the Kyrgyz Republic is the Center for World Languages and Cultures, a two-year course of which trains simultaneous interpreters for government agencies and international organizations in languages such as English, German, French, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Hindi and Turkish. Moreover, translators of a wide profile according to the industry principle.
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