The Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations, also known as IDFR, was established on 1 July 1991 under the Prime Minister’s Department following a Cabinet decision dated 6 March 1991. It was officially launched that same year on 12 August by the then Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. On 27 March 2001 IDFR officially became part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia.
Located in Kuala Lumpur, IDFR is housed in the former building of the Foreign Ministry. Its new campus was opened in 2006.

As the Ministry’s training arm, IDFR conducts training programmes for Malaysian diplomatic officers as well as officers from other government ministries and agencies. Apart from the main diplomatic training courses, IDFR provides mid-career and follow up professional skills training to help enhance the professionalism of serving officers.

In collaboration with the National University of Malaysia (UKM), IDFR offers a thirteen month postgraduate programme for a Master of Social Science in Strategy and Diplomacy.

IDFR training courses are also offered to more than 136 countries worldwide, in particular to participants from the developing countries under the Malaysian Technical Cooperation Programme (MTCP) as well as from ASEAN, Colombo Plan and Commonwealth countries.

IDFR course students and trainees have numerous opportunities to participate in seminars, workshops and round table discussions as well as to benefit from keynote addresses and lectures by distinguished visiting scholars and international leaders. Prominent speakers under IDFR’s Public Lecture Series have included Kofi Annan, Haris Siladzic, Lee Hsien Loong, Nelson Mandela, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, the late Benazir Bhutto and the late Yasser Arafat.