Tripoli, 25 September 2013:
Germany has put 15 Libyan diplomats through an intensive four-week course at the German Diplomatic Service Academy in Berlin, in the first of what may become a series of such group training events.
In the past, individual diplomats have been sent to train in Germany. The Libyan Ministry of Foreign affairs had requested that the course should focus on security and economic policy and Europe as well as public speaking and presentational skills.
In a packed schedule, outside of formal training sessions, those taking part were taken to Frankfurt, where they visited the European Central Bank, to Freiburg where their briefing included the management of cross-border relations with France and Switzerland and to Brussels where they they were briefed on both the European Union and NATO.
Some of the diplomats who went through the programme in Berlin met the German ambassador to Libya, Christian Much at the Tripoli embassy to debrief him on their experience of the month of intensive training.
A German embassy spokesman today told the Libya Herald: “The course was intended to lead to a more regular kind of exchange, including between the diplomatic services of Germany and Libya. Our Foreign Office is exploring the possibilities of extending the training programme”. [/restrict]
