For the second consecutive time Prof. Fadi Comair Director of Energy, Environment and Water Research Center EEWRC at The Cyprus Institute CyI participated in the Diplomatic Skills Course for The Common Security and Defence Policy CSDP.

 

The Course is organized by The Cyprus Security and Defence Academy of the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Cyprus and the Diplomatic Academy of the University of Nicosia, under the aegis of the European Security and Defence College ESDC with the support of the Cyprus Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Romanian Embassy in Cyprus. The course took place in a residential format in Larnaca, Cyprus, from 16 to 19 October 2023.

 

The second introductory course on Diplomacy for CSDP aimed at familiarizing the participants with the basic principles in the area of diplomacy. It also focused on the international strategic and diplomatic context, and conducted a critical assessment of the connections between diplomacy and the CSDP/CFSP domain. Further, it discussed ‘new’ and ‘old’ diplomacy, globalization trends, and the relevance of public diplomacy in the context of CSDP missions. Further, it introduced concepts and practices related to digital/e-diplomacy and water and climate diplomacy.

 

The ultimate goal of the Diplomatic Skills Course is to support EU Member States and EU institutions and agencies in training their personnel to work efficiently in CSDP-related fields at operational and strategic levels.

 

High Profile participants from diverse backgrounds attended the course including police, military, diplomats and civilians from EU Member States, EU institutions and agencies. There was also a representation from African Organizations.

 

In addition to the presentations on Water Diplomacy and Hydrodiplomacy and the Water Energy Food Transboundary Nexus. Prof. Comair focused on transboundary water management in Eastern European Countries. He showcased the unilateral management of the two major conflict shared river basins in Eastern Europe namely the Don and the Dnieper Rivers. Comparatively, he presented the success story of the shared basin management of the Danube River. It was discussed that the Danube River could be used as a reference for the conflict management of the shared rivers basins.

 

Prof. Comair later invited the participants to join CyI Hydrodiplomacy Partnership Program HPP which was launched in 2022.

 

A training course on EU Water Framework Directive with respect to transboundary water basins might be a subject of collaboration in the near future between the Cyprus Institute and the Cyprus Security and Defence Academy.