This year, IDFR has launched two in-house publications, titled ‘Diplomacy Through the Pandemic’ and ‘Economic Diplomacy for Developing Asia’ on Tuesday, 26 September 2023. The event was held at EQ Hotel Kuala Lumpur and officiated by The Honourable Datuk Mohamad Alamin, Deputy Foreign Minister of Malaysia. A total of 120 attendees have joined to celebrate the occasion, including the book authors, diplomatic corps, government officials, and members of academia from think tanks and universities. 17 serving officers in Malaysian Missions have also joined virtually via Google Meet.
As the training arm of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malaysia, IDFR is actively producing publications on topics with interest to Malaysia’s foreign policy and international issues. Edited by YBhg. Dato’ Dr Shazelina Zainul Abidin, the ‘Diplomacy Through the Pandemic’ gathered Malaysian top-notch diplomats to share their experiences and journey in managing COVID-19 pandemic while serving abroad. The book is divided into regional chapters, which features the reality of a diplomat's daily life and how they managed COVID-19 pandemic at their post with various constraints, such as lockdowns and extremely limited resources at their disposal. In other words, the literary opus is an illustrious cadre of Malaysian diplomats and their respected penned narratives.
Turning our attention to the second book, ‘Economic Diplomacy in Developing Asia’ is also very timely and relevant to Malaysia and the Asian region at large. Penned by Professor Sufian Jusoh, a highly respected figure in the field of international trade and economy, with extensive experience in policy development and consultation programs at government and non-governmental levels. Although the stringent pandemic measures prevented a proper launch of the ‘Economic Diplomacy for Developing Asia”’book in 2021, the book, regardless, still serves as an invaluable discussion to the national economic discourse, especially for practitioners and policymakers.
Prepared by:
Ms. Hanun Insyirah Ishak and Ms. Aida Yasmin Azhar
Centre for Political Studies and Economic Diplomacy (PSED)
