Manama: Qatar has set up a diplomacy institute within its foreign ministry as part of an overall restructuring of the ministry that included appointing three undersecretaries to assist the minister.
The institute is tasked with training ministry employees to take up positions in the diplomatic and consular corps and in the international cooperation field.
It will also train diplomats and boost the aptitudes of ministry employees, draft studies and conduct research on diplomacy affairs and international political and economic relations.
The institute will provide consultancy services to ministries and government and public agencies.
Under the revamped ministry, the minister now has an assistant for foreign affairs, Ali Bin Fahad Bin Faleh Al Hajiri, a second assistant for services, Rashed Bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, and a third assistant for international cooperation, Shaikh Ahmad Bin Mohamamd Bin Jabr Al Thani. The three assistants have the rank of ministers.
However, the post of undersecretary for follow-up affairs has been cancelled while each of the African, Asian, European and American affairs has its own directorate.
Two bureaus, one for media and the other security affairs, were set up and the directorates of international organisations and conferences, international development and international technical cooperation are now under the umbrella of the foreign affairs ministry.
