Phnom Penh, 10 March 2025
The 7th intake of the PCAsia Parliamentary Diplomacy Programme was launched on 10 March 2025. It was conducted in hybrid mode with face-to-face participation by parliamentary staff from the Cambodian Parliament at the PCAsia Representative Office and online participation by parliamentary staff from Indonesia, Laos, Philippines and Thailand, PCAsia instructors and the Director of the programme. The total participants of this intake is 15. The session was opened by Mr Chanprasnar YI, Executive Director and Professor Michel FOUCHER, Former French Ambassador and Director of the Programme on Parliamentary Diplomacy.
In the opening remarks Mr Chanprasnar YI highlighted the importance of the role of Science and Technology as Instruments of Diplomacy in the geopolitical context. The reach of social media platforms has transformed the dissemination of information, influencing public opinion and political landscape across continents. He noted that legislators and diplomats embracing tools of modern diplomacy and committing to ethical governance is key to fostering global peace and prosperity.
Professor Michel Foucher reiterated that the programme will contribute to enhancing professional capacities of the staff of the participating AIPA Member Parliaments in practical areas of diplomacy. They will learn diplomacy and negotiation skills used in regional and international institutions and forums and basic knowledge of international law principles, as they relate to regional and global issues.
The 2025 training is conducted in blended mode. It is composed of three modules. Module 1 includes two weeks of face-to-face training for the Cambodian trainees in Phnom Penh while the regional trainees attend online. All Module 1 sessions are being led by regional and international experts who will provide experience sharing on parliamentary diplomacy, guidance on the content of diplomatic documents such as country position papers, speech writing, draft resolutions and the steps involved in producing these documents.
Module 2 consists of one week of online (hybrid) practical training aimed at equipping trainees with the technical skills needed to draft effective national position papers for parliamentary delegations attending inter-parliamentary meetings and events.
In the final module which is the simulation week, all 15 trainees will work onsite, facilitated by the Programme Director, Professor Michel FOUCHER in Phnom Penh from 5 to 9 May 2025 to work on consensus building and applying the knowledge and skills they acquire during the training.
Professor Michel Foucher is convinced that this training will also help to build a strong network among parliamentary staff in Southeast Asia, the ASEAN spirit and contribute to promoting the expression of a spirit of mutual understanding and effective cooperation between trainees. This is also the one of the main objectives of this programme.