Diplomacy key to mitigating Covid-19 impact, says UAE expert

Abu Dhabi - Official discussed the role of international cooperation in mitigating the impact of crises.

Diplomacy plays an important role in mitigating the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, especially in enhancing international cooperation and supporting global organisations, said a diplomacy expert.

Dr Abdullah Al Salamah, director-general of the Prince Saud Al Faisal Institute for Diplomatic Studies (IDS), said challenges such as Covid-19 often arise from increased uncertainties, lack of preparedness, and differing social, security, health, and economic priorities among nations.

He was speaking at a virtual workshop titled 'The role of diplomacy in crisis management', which wass organised by the Emirates Diplomatic Academy (EDA), in cooperation with IDS.

"We look forward to benefiting from such initiatives to enhance our specialised diplomatic training offerings, and improve the skills of employees at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia and other relevant entities to deal with such crises," said Al Salamah.

Dr Mariam Ibrahim Al-Mahmoud, deputy director-general of the EDA, said: "The UAE and Saudi Arabia are distinguished in dealing with the repercussions of the crisis imposed by this pandemic, on the levels of health, social, economic, and even beyond that, in the fields of political and diplomatic work.

"At a time when many countries around the world ceased to deal with this global crisis at the local level, the urgent need to have pre-emptive plans for managing crises diplomatically emerged, as nations and their diplomatic teams work swiftly to strengthen relations and build bridges between societies."

Shama Al Dabal, EDA instructor of the executive training department, discussed the role of international cooperation in mitigating the impact of crises, obstacles to international cooperation, as well as the role of diplomacy in overcoming these obstacles and raising the level of cooperation.

The workshop discussed three key issues, including planning and crisis management, the international cooperation and diplomacy in mitigating the impact of crises and the bilateral and multilateral diplomacy.

ismail@khaleejtimes.com

• Abu Dhabi