On Tuesday, the
twenty-seventh of February in the year 2024, a seminar titled "From
College to the Foreign Ministry" was held. It was presented by His
Excellency Ambassador Mohamed El Orabi, in the presence of nine
graduates from the Faculty of Economics and Political Science who have
become the new diplomats at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They shared
their experiences and journey from being college students to joining the
Egyptian Foreign Ministry.
The
seminar began with an opening speech by Dr. Hanan Mohamed Ali, the
Acting Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Political Science. She
expressed her pride that 20% of the total diplomatic attachés, nine out
of 51, were graduates of the faculty. She considered this to be a very
encouraging percentage, given the intense competition across the Arab
Republic of Egypt, expressing hope for an even higher percentage in
future generations.
Ambassador El Orabi then addressed the audience, expressing his love for
this occasion as it marks the culmination of years of effort since their
college days until the moment of acceptance. He emphasized that passing
the exams is not an easy task, involving various stages of written and
oral questions covering history, international politics, international
law, political economy, and languages such as Arabic, the mother tongue,
and others like French, German, Italian, and more. He highlighted the
diversity of questions, including those related to arts and literature,
as Egyptian diplomats need to possess diverse knowledge and eloquence
beyond academic expertise.
Ambassador El Orabi clarified that the notion of diplomatic work being
flawless is a misconception. Despite the advantages of the profession,
it comes with responsibilities, and the nature of the work pressure
requires speed and accuracy. However, it offers a different lifestyle
and a fresh perspective on life due to constant mobility and exposure to
various experiences.
He
concluded his speech by encouraging students to take advantage of the
opportunities provided by the college and the current era, which offers
various sources of knowledge, learning, and collaboration with
professors. This creates a greater opportunity for students to compete
nationwide for positions within the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign
Affairs.
After Ambassador El Orabi's speech, each diplomatic attaché shared their
experience of joining the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The
participation began with (Salma Adnan), a graduate of the Department of
Political Science for the year 2019. (Salma) shared her experience in
development work and obtaining a master’s degree in foreign affairs from
the American University in Cairo. She explained her keen interest in
development, especially empowering women and facilitating the transition
to the formal market, and stressed that from her experience in different
countries, she found that a graduate of the Faculty of Economics and
Political Science showed a clear distinction from others. She explained
how much she loved the academy and wanted to apply this practically, so
the Egyptian Ministry for Foreign Affairs was the ideal place for
practical application. Then (Lana Darragh), a 2019 graduate of the
Department of Political Science, participated. (Lana) explained the
advantage of students from the Faculty of Economics and Political
Science over other applicants because of our prior knowledge of the exam
materials. She emphasized the importance of persistence and not despair,
because you may pass the exams after several times, and it is not
necessary for it to be the first time, and that on the contrary, if your
experience of taking the exam is repeated, this is an advantage because
you have prior knowledge of the exam format and not others. She
explained the importance of knowing languages, especially Arabic,
because the evaluation is not only based on the content, but also
includes the method of presentation.
Subsequently, (Samia Gamal), a graduate of the Department of Political
Science, shared her experience working in various government sectors in
international cooperation offices and the various activities in which
she worked while she was still in college in order to develop her skills
until she was able to pass the tests of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Then (Alaa Zein), a graduate of political science, participated in the
year 2017, and she is considered the largest enrollee in the current
batch. Once (Alaa) graduated, she worked at the Ministry of Youth and
Sports, specifically in African affairs programs, and that experience
was what prompted her to take the exams in 2018 for the first time,
which she did not succeed in, but she tried for the second time and
passed. The secret for success was to use the information correctly in
the answers. She stressed that the idea that “graduates of the Faculty
of Political Science will not find a job after graduation” is false, and
that she moved between many ministries and her journey was full of
experiences and jobs.
(Aya
Osama), a 2019 political science graduate, presented her experience in
development work before joining the Foreign Ministry in various
ministries, such as the Ministry of Communications, her participation in
representing Egypt in international forums and development institutions,
and her work in planning and designing various projects in this sector.
(Aya) explained that setting goals and working on them begins from
joining college until taking exams, and that we research and expand in
various fields with continuous research.
(Rahma
Khaled), a 2017 graduate of the Department of Economics, who is
considered the second oldest person to join the diplomatic corps this
year, added. Rahma faced the challenge of being a graduate of the
Department of Economics and that she had not studied subjects such as
international law and other subjects on which exams are evaluated, but
she had studied political economy and her knowledge of the connection
between economics and politics and her knowledge of the dimensions of
decision-making was what made her join the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
She advised those wishing to apply and experience the opportunities
available to them since graduation to enroll, while enjoying every step
in the progress journey because it will become special memories.
(Ziad Al-Tahri), a graduate of the Department of Political Science for
the year 2019, participated and emphasized the point that there are many
job opportunities for graduates of the Department of Political Science,
and he proved it with his experience as an international cooperation
officer at the Ministry of Local Development, and his work at the
American University and strategic research centers, which he concluded
with his work at the Embassy of India until he joined the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs as a diplomatic attaché. He shared his experience and
his dream of joining since he was in school, and his experience in
applying more than once until he succeeded, and he stressed that the
applicant must be confident and patient. (Ziad) suggested that the
faculty holds ongoing seminars to enrich students’ knowledge and expose
them to more information about the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
(Mahmoud
Medhat), a graduate of the Department of Political Science for the year
2021, presented his experience in the college and the importance of the
information we receive in the college and that it is what helped him
pass the exams. He praised his experience in training at the Diplomatic
Institute before joining the Foreign Ministry and how positive the
experience was in determining his destination and path despite the
diversity of his experience. The process in the banking field. And last
but not least, (Ahmed Nagy), a graduate of the Department of Political
Science - French Section for the year 2020, concluded the seminar “from
the Faculty to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” where he shared his
experience in the niche department of Foreign Debt at the Ministry of
Planning and Economic Development, which in turn helped him with
information and practical experiences in dealing with various ministries
and state sectors. In his progress and success in tests.
“You
know that you are ready when you are not ready.” This is a saying with
which (Ahmed) concluded his speech and explained that our presence in
college is not enough to be diplomats. Rather, we must be certain that
there is a lot to learn in order to become an Egyptian diplomat, and to
complete that journey and arrive. I am certain that it is a difficult
journey and no It can be individual, share the road with those you love.
