Sejong Institute opens diplomatic training sessions

Participants in a diplomatic training session co-organized by Sejong Institute and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) pose during their orientation at the KOICA headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Monday. / Courtesy of Sejong Institute

By Yi Whan-woo

The Sejong Institute, a government-funded think tank on global policies, has started training sessions for diplomats from 22 developing countries alongside the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), the institute said Monday.

Paik Hak-soon, director of the Center for North Korean Studies at the think tank, is leading the sessions at KOICA headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province through Oct. 31.

This is the first time that Seoul will offer a training program for international diplomats over two months, according to the institute.

KOICA, a foreign assistance agency under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, invited a diplomat from each of the 22 nations from Africa, Asia and Central and South America.

The participating countries included Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Colombia, Ethiopia, Ghana, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

KOICA runs donor programs in all 22 countries.

The sessions are aimed at enhancing the participants’ job performance and giving them a better understanding of Korea.

The program was also set up as part of the government’s efforts to thank the international community for helping South Korea, the world’s 14th largest economy, in becoming a donor country.

Since its foundation in 1983, the Sejong Institute has carried out an extensive research on a wide range of issues, including inter-Korean ties, security in East Asia, and multilateral relations among the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia.