Afghan Diplomat Training Program

The Public Affairs Section (PAS) of the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan announces an open competition for an assistance award through this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for a cooperative agreement to implement a two-week training program in the U.S. for up to twenty junior Afghan diplomats, (henceforth “the participants”) to take place no later than November 2015. The program will be one phase of a joint U.S.-Chinese training program for Afghan diplomats. The second phase may be sponsored by the Government of China and may take place in Beijing subsequent to the activities funded by this cooperative agreement. To this end, twenty Afghan diplomats will participate in a two-week diplomacy training program in the U.S., centered in Washington, D.C., but possibly including some days in a second U.S. city. Since this is part of a cooperative effort between the U.S. and China to build capacity in the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a visit to the Chinese Embassy in Washington should be built into the program and Chinese diplomats should be invited to the opening and/or final sessions. The program format will consist of presentations, discussions, practical exercises and role-plays at a conference-style facility in the Washington, D.C. area suitable for a group of this size and offering space for concurrent, small group activities. Competitive proposals will emphasize the development of the skills professional diplomats must master in their careers. Also included in the program will be site visits to the Department of State and other U.S. government agencies, the Embassies of Afghanistan and China, and other foreign policy stakeholders. Cultural and social events on certain weekday evenings and the weekend between the two training weeks are desirable supplements. The program schedule should also include participation in a social service activity alongside American volunteers.