The Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) Secretariat participated in the Special Course on Functional Competencies for Smarter Diplomacy, held at the Sushma Swaraj Institute of Foreign Service (SSIFS) from 8 to 13 December 2025. The six-day program brought together 31 diplomats and officials from Mauritius, Seychelles, and the IORA Secretariat.

The Special Course on Functional Competencies for Smarter Diplomacy was inaugurated by Ambassador Raj Kumar Srivastava, Dean of SSIFS, who outlined the three core competencies essential for smarter diplomacy: behavioral, functional, and domain competencies. In his inaugural address, he also highlighted the five Ps of functional competency: process, protocol, progressive, purposeful, and problem solving and shared insights on India’s foreign policy pillars, strategic outlook, and the four Ts: trade, technology, tourism, and talent—under the “Diplomacy for Development” framework.

The course was designed to strengthen practical diplomatic skills across political, protocol, process, public, and progressive dimensions. The program comprised 14 expert-led sessions delivered by practitioners from government institutions, leading think tanks, and the Ministry of External Affairs.

As part of the program, IORA Secretariat participants visited the National Maritime Foundation, India’s foremost autonomous maritime think tank, where discussions focused on critical maritime issues in the Indian Ocean region, including coastal security, anti-piracy operations, and capacity-building efforts to enhance the preparedness of island nations. During the valedictory session, Ambassador Srivastava presented certificates of participation to the participants and encouraged them to further strengthen ties between India and their respective countries.