Doha, January 08 (QNA) – The Katara Public Diplomacy Center (KPDC) held Sunday a lecture entitled ‘Educational Diplomacy’, at the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MOEHE)’s theater, as part of the center’s training plan initiated in January.
Presented by HE Director of Diplomatic Institute, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Abdulaziz Al Horr, the lecture brought together Secretary-General of KPDC Eng. Darwish Ahmed Al Shaibani, Assistant Undersecretary for Private Education Affairs at MOEHE, Omar Abdulaziz Al Naama, and Acting Assistant Undersecretary for Higher Education Affairs, Dr. Khalid Abdulla Al Ali, a host of their Excellencies ambassadors and members of the diplomatic corps, as well as a large crowd of MOEHE affiliates.
HE Dr. Al Horr stressed that the State of Qatar is active in the field of public diplomacy through a set of cultural projects such as the Cultural Village Foundation “Katara” and Qatar Museums, as well as hosting conferences, meetings and seminars on various international topics and issues, based on its belief in the importance of public diplomacy in formulating the State’s civilized image. His Excellency also highlighted the Qatar Airways’ distinguished services in introducing the State of Qatar to large segments of travelers and transforming Hamad International Airport into a global transit station, as well as the roles of the media outlets operating in Qatar such as Al Jazeera and beIN SPORTS, in addition to active participation in international organizations.
His Excellency noted that Qatar possesses 26 tools in the basket of soft power, which contains many projects that have imposed themselves strongly in the field of soft power in the world, most notably the sports diplomacy that was achieved in the impressive success of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
His Excellency added that Qatar has invested in the field of education and higher education as one of the most important tools of soft power, through its innovation of the selective model in university education, pointing out that the country has made tremendous progress in the education and higher education sector, through the Education City, which hosts major international universities and schools and constitutes one of the most prominent features of civilization that characterize the State of Qatar worldwide.
Soft power achieves three basic goals that lie in positioning, attractiveness and protection, which is what Education City accomplishes by achieving international fame and attracting student and teaching cadres from all over the world, His Excellency added.
Speaking about Qatari diplomacy, His Excellency pointed out that the State of Qatar played a major role in the regional balance of power through its emergence as a political and economic heavyweight in the Middle East and its adoption of an independent foreign policy that protects its interests, guarantees its independence and serves its citizens. His Excellency pointed to Doha’s success as a mediator in many conflicts, its excellence in the field of peacemaking, its hosting of major international events and its position at the forefront of the world in the field of exporting liquefied natural gas, in addition to its unprecedented development achievements at the regional level.
Protecting and maximizing these gains requires an active foreign policy in building, developing and maintaining relations, aware of regional and international changes, and able to deal with them wisely and intelligently, His Excellency said, highlighting the pillars of Qatari diplomacy that are based on a set of major principles and starting points defined by the Qatari constitution and the 2030 Qatar National Vision, political practice and strategic interests, such as respecting international law and covenants, defending public and private freedoms and human rights, consolidating international peace and security by peacefully settling international disputes, and supporting the rights of peoples to self-determination.
For his part, Eng. Darwish Ahmed Al Shaibani referred to the efforts led by the center in introducing public diplomacy, through its launch of the training plan for Qatari public diplomacy for the month of January 2023, which includes a series of educational lectures and training courses, in line with its launch of a media awareness campaign in cooperation with local TV channels and social media, including a group of television interviews with a group of Their Excellencies ministers, ambassadors, diplomats and academics. (QNA)