The Embassies of The Hague open their doors to Leiden University students and Diplomat Magazine’s Junior Team

Visiting the Apostolic Nuncio, H.E. Archbishop Aldo Cavalli.

By Guido Lanfranchi.

Over the past few months, many Embassies in The Hague have welcomed delegations of Leiden University students and Diplomat Magazine Junior Team, and several others are planning to do so very soon.

The Hague, city of Peace and Justice, offers a very broad array of opportunities for its students, and especially for those interested in topic related to international relations and diplomacy.

The city hosts not only an incredibly high number of International Organizations, but also 115 Embassies, which represent an invaluable resource for students who are interested in the mechanisms of international diplomacy.

Over the past few years, groups of students from Leiden University have often visited several Embassies all across The Hague.

In doing so, the students have been able to gain precious insights about diplomacy and international relations dynamics, and to meet personally Ambassadors and diplomats, thus enhancing the value of studying international relations in a city like The Hague.

During the current year, BASIS The Hague and Diplomat Magazine have developed a particularly strong collaboration, with the aim of providing the students with even more experiences of this kind. At the beginning of the year, the Academic Committee of BASIS, a student association of Leiden University, reached out to Diplomat Magazine Junior Team and soon established a profitable collaboration in organizing different events for students.

Over the current academic year, eight Embassies have already opened their doors to the students. The first one has been the Apostolic Nunciature on November 6^th, 2017, when a big group of students enjoyed the hospitality of H.E. Archbishop Aldo Cavalli. Shortly afterwards, on November 16^th, H.E. Mr. Konstantine Surguladze, Ambassador of Georgia, met a group of students, followed by Mr. Pablo Romero, then First Secretary of the Embassy of Brazil, on December 14^th.

After a long break due to the Christmas holidays and the exam period, the series of Embassy Visits started again in March 6^th, when H.E. Mr. Ali Shujjat Rathore and his staff talked at length with a group of extremely curious students at the Embassy of Pakistan.

Then, in April alone, the students enjoyed the possibility to visit fours Embassies. On April 10^th, H.E. Mr. Edgar Elias Azar and his colleagues welcomed several students at the Embassy of Mexico. Then, on April 12^th, it was the turn of H.E. Mr. Andras Kocsis, Ambassador of Hungary to the Netherlands, followed after a few days by H.E. Mr. Abdel Sattar Issa, newly established Ambassador of Lebanon in The Hague.

Finally, on April 23^rd, H.E. Ms. Sahar Ghanem, Ambassador of Yemen, received a group of students at the Embassy for almost three hours.

Although the academic year approaches its end, the series of Embassy Visits is still not over. On May 17^th, H.E. Ms. Rawan Sulaiman will open the doors of the Palestinian Mission in The Hague, followed by H.E. Mr. Amgad Abdel-Ghaffar, Ambassador of Egypt, on the next day.

The following week, on May 22^nd, the students will have the possibility to visit the Russian Embassy and talk to H.E. Mr. Alexander Shulgin. Finally, contacts are already in place with the Embassies of Iran, Afghanistan, and Venezuela, thus paving the way for more events in this year or the next.

The students of Leiden University and Diplomat Magazine sincerely thank all the Embassies that have showed their availability to welcome students, thus enhancing the quality of their study experience and… who knows, maybe helping them to become better diplomats in the future!