Much work—and some play—on a U.S. study tour for 15 mid-career Asian diplomats.
We caught up with two of the group in San Francisco, just as they were packing for home, to hear a few thoughts about their U.S. visit. Ms. Sujana Aryal is a protocol officer in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nepal, and Mr. Nguyen Dong Anh is vice-dean of faculty at the International Communications-and-Culture Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Much work—and some play—on a U.S. study tour for 15 mid-career Asian diplomats.
We caught up with two of the group in San Francisco, just as they were packing for home, to hear a few thoughts about their U.S. visit. Ms. Sujana Aryal is a protocol officer in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nepal, and Mr. Nguyen Dong Anh is vice-dean of faculty at the International Communications-and-Culture Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Nguyen Dong Anh (00:03):
This trip is not just visiting America, it's visiting 15 other countries at once. We work and we play. We learn a lot from each other.
Sujana Aryal (00:13):
And then a lot of shopping as well. You forgot to mention that.
Nguyen Dong Anh (00:13):
And some shopping as well.
Sujana Aryal (00:16):
Bonding with shopping.
John Rieger (00:18):
Much work and some play for 15 young diplomats on a US study tour, today on InAsia from The Asia Foundation. I'm John Rieger.
Tracie Yang (00:26):
And I'm Tracie Yang.
(00:28):
Once again this year, The Asia Foundation has welcomed a talented group of mid-career Asian and Pacific Island diplomats for a three-week fellowship in the United States.
(00:37):
The Young Asian Diplomats program includes coursework at Georgetown University in DC, a study tour to New York City, San Francisco, and New Orleans, and of course, a bit of fun.
John Rieger (00:47):
We caught up with two of the group in San Francisco just as they were packing for home, to hear a few thoughts about their US visit.
(00:53):
Ms. Sujana Aryal is a protocol officer in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nepal, and Mr. Nguyen Dong Anh is vice dean of faculty at the International Communications and Culture Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Sujana and Dong Anh, welcome to InAsia.
Sujana Aryal (01:10):
Thank you for having us.
Nguyen Dong Anh (01:11):
Thank you for having us.
Tracie Yang (01:12):
You've just finished your fellowship here in the US. Did you have a favorite activity or experience in those three weeks together?
Sujana Aryal (01:20):
The sessions that we had in Georgetown University, they were very diverse, talking about international relations, diplomacy, west domestic policies, US Asia relations, and many more. But there was this thing about the 15 of us, the topics were not only related to one country. We were all human beings. We as human beings talked about the effects of climate change, the challenges of the 21st century, and how as human beings we can make the world a better place to live in.
Nguyen Dong Anh (02:01):
It was very academic at the Georgetown University with some of the professors and ambassador, but it is also very practical when we have chance to visit the State Department, the White House, and then we take a study tour into United Nations and New Orleans.
Sujana Aryal (02:21):
Yes, I think, yeah, my favorite activity would be going to the study tours, visiting the place for real and learning so many things. While saying this, I have New Orleans in my mind. Its history, amazing. I was not aware of it before.
Nguyen Dong Anh (02:39):
And then we had a week in Washington DC. That's a place for diplomats, world-class diplomats. We have embassies of all the countries, and then we have a few days in United Nation, which is also the place for world-class diplomats.
Tracie Yang (02:56):
What stood out to you, Sujana, about Louisiana?
Sujana Aryal (02:59):
About Louisiana? Well, everything about it, because how we see United States of America is basically New York, but then going to Washington DC and then New York to New Orleans and then here, San Francisco, we can see the diversity. And I was amazed at the greenery Washington DC had. As soon as I landed at the airport and I was being driven to the hotel, I was amazed. I was like, "This is America?" So it's a new perspective for me, so yeah.
Tracie Yang (03:35):
And in New Orleans I understand that there's actually a pretty large Vietnamese population there. Did you get to experience some of that history [inaudible 00:03:44]?
Nguyen Dong Anh (03:43):
Yes. I also love New Orleans. This is my first time in New Orleans and I learned that this is a place where the biggest Vietnamese community live in America. There are about 14,000 of them. And beside the good food they bring to the culture, like banh mi and pho, I think that ... I asked the question to the president of the city council whether the Vietnamese community is contributing positively to the city and to the nation, and the answer that I get is, "It's great." I'm very proud of the people who are contributing to the place and to the country, whichever, to Louisiana, New Orleans and Baton Rouge, to see how the Mississippi and the lower Mississippi regions trying to figure out how to cope with the changes of the climate change. That's what exactly we have in Macomb River, and Vietnam is a country in the lower Macomb Delta River, so we have all such the same problem, so Louisiana, New Orleans, Baton Rouge is all the fascinating place for us to study, to learn and to get to nature as well, to see all the-
Sujana Aryal (04:54):
Yes, and then we went to the French Quarter and had a very nice lunch at the Napoleon, which was wonderful.
Tracie Yang (05:01):
That's very nice. Yes.
Nguyen Dong Anh (05:03):
And we saw alligators as well.
Sujana Aryal (05:04):
We saw alligators.
John Rieger (05:08):
You traveled with a group of 15 mid-career diplomats from all over Asia and the Pacific. What did you think of them? And what's something interesting you learned about each other on this trip with them?
Sujana Aryal (05:21):
The first day at Georgetown University, it was kind of like a formal meeting. We were professionals. And later as we got to experience more, bonded more, had dialogues, we started to become friends gradually. It's a very sad day for us today because we'll be departing tomorrow. But nevertheless, I feel like I have learned so much from every 14 individual here and the connection that we've built being here for the past two and a half weeks, I hope that we can take it further-
Nguyen Dong Anh (06:02):
We can grow that.
Sujana Aryal (06:03):
Yeah, we can grow it, not only on individual level, but also because we represent different countries on national level, I hope that we can come together as Asians, we can connect and make Asia and the world a better place.
Nguyen Dong Anh (06:20):
Yes. We are 15 different people come from 15 different countries, so for me, this trip is not just visiting America, it's visiting 50 other countries at once. And I feel that I can learn so much from different culture, in Asia itself. This group has a lot of energy. I mean, we work and we play. We run together in the morning and we do a lot of activities, the official one, the study tour and all of that. But at night, we still gather together and talk about our country, our people, and so that's a great thing. We learn a lot from each other.
Sujana Aryal (07:01):
And a lot of shopping as well, you forgot.
Nguyen Dong Anh (07:01):
And some shopping as well.
Sujana Aryal (07:04):
Bonding With shopping especially.
Nguyen Dong Anh (07:07):
I feel that we all put a lot of energy in this program. Yes.
Sujana Aryal (07:10):
Yes.
Tracie Yang (07:11):
So then just to go in further, how has this trip been valuable to you as a diplomat?
John Rieger (07:17):
As a professional diplomat?
Nguyen Dong Anh (07:20):
The thing is that I've been working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for about more than 10 years, and I need this kind of opportunity to go oversee and to look back what I have learned, what I have developed in my career, and to review what I'm capable of and what I can do in the future. I think one week at Georgetown is the foundation to fill in all the gap and some of the thing that we are still lack of in our career back home. And it's great for us to expand our connections, our network of friends, because that's the place where we can get to know and to make friends with diplomat from other country.
Sujana Aryal (08:03):
Yes. I believe communication is very important to diplomats. Back home, the work we have, the daily work, it's just one story. It's just your story, I mean, the country's story, how the country wants to put their national interest forward, what the country's foreign policy is all about, how it wants to conduct its international relations. And so at times we get so much lost in that one story, so trainings and programs like these, I feel are essential so that we can connect other stories. Here we connected 15 different stories together so that we can have a big book of stories that have common goals. I feel like in that sense, it's very important for me. I joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2019, so words are not enough actually. So many feelings and thoughts inside, words are not enough to express.
John Rieger (09:03):
Well, let's get philosophical for a moment. What does it actually take to be a diplomat? Is it training? Is it a certain kind of personality? Tell us about someone you admire in the diplomatic core or not who really showed you the qualities that it takes to be a diplomat?
Sujana Aryal (09:23):
Yes, yes. Being a diplomat is a process of continuous learning. There are so many challenges. Recently we had COVID pandemic and then the climate change issues and all of that. The challenges are continuously metamorphing, right?
(09:42):
I feel like diplomats are not just innate. Maybe some characteristics can be innate, like someone can be a very good empathy, empathetic by nature, but then again, there are so many things that can be learned. And human being, we're amazing creatures, I believe.
(10:02):
Someone I would look up to, in America, I would like to take the name of Hillary Clinton. The way she is given credit for putting highlight on climate change and woman empowerment, I look up to her for that. And then in Nepal's context, I would like to take the name of our respected senior [inaudible 00:10:29], who intellectualized our foreign policy. And lastly, I'd like to add that I've been really inspired by the 14 diplomats for the last two and a half weeks we've been here in one way or other.
Nguyen Dong Anh (10:43):
In my opinion, I think that to be a diplomat, you need to have wide knowledge in different fields. But at the same time, you need to go deep in some of the thing that is important to the country. The most important thing is that they need to serve the country and the people. I have a passion for this and it took me five years to take the exam a few times to get into the Ministry of Foreign Affair.
John Rieger (11:10):
More than once.
Nguyen Dong Anh (11:11):
More than once. In Vietnam, to get into the Ministry of Foreign Affair, it takes a lot of efforts. You need to know the different languages. You need to be skillful in communications. You need to have a good understanding of our nation histories, international relations and all the global issues and all of that.
(11:33):
And I do have a role model. This is nothing about politics, but I really admire my current foreign minister, Mr. Bui Thanh Son, because he started as a librarian at my university handing book to students and all of that. It wasn't a good start at all at that point of time, but then he told us that that gave him time to read all the book that he needs. And then he tried to study and he got a scholarship to the US and Japan, and then he come back and served in my university for about 15 years. He became the vice president of the university, and then he is posted to Singapore as the deputy chief of missions in Singapore, and then he come back and work his way to the deputy minister and now minister of foreign affair, so it's a great example. It's a good model for us.
Tracie Yang (12:32):
So then speaking of that next generation, as you look ahead in your careers, what do you think are the issues in the world that will most require skillful diplomacy?
Sujana Aryal (12:44):
Well, the environment is certainly a big challenge we have now. Climate change is here. We also had sessions regarding climate change and we went to the Water Institute in New Orleans where we were shown how climate change had affected the flow of the river and how they were trying to preserve it and thinking of solutions, and then the recent COVID pandemic that we saw, the pandemics. Somehow everything is relating to science and nature.
Nguyen Dong Anh (13:18):
To choose one thing that is most challenging for diplomats, I think is technology, the rise of AI, artificial intelligence, whether it's a good thing for humankind or whether it's a bad thing in the long future. We have seen sci-fi movie about that. Is it going to happen that way? But it's a challenge because we study international relation. We didn't study computer science and all of that, maybe because we have an opportunity to come here in the US, one of the most developed country in the world, and the one that is having more than one AI competing. Yes, competing. That may be a good lesson for us to learn from as well.
Sujana Aryal (14:03):
The most important thing is awareness. We ourselves need to be aware of the different challenges, especially environment. And then if we are aware, we can share our knowledge with others globally.
Nguyen Dong Anh (14:16):
That is something that diplomat can do as well, I mean, not just everyday country to country, but also people to people and business to business. But beside, there are many other things.
Sujana Aryal (14:28):
Yes, very traditional issues that we have many, but then I think our focus should be on environment and as you mentioned, technology, because they are so fast-growing and rapidly developing that there's no stop to it.
Nguyen Dong Anh (14:41):
And maybe because we are young diplomats, so this is our way of thinking. The issue that we choose is from the perspective of young diplomats. This is the thing about the youth. We have our own worry.
John Rieger (14:55):
Well, all right then. Your fellowship is coming to an end. This is the sunset of your time here. Now you're going back to work. What most excites you about the year ahead?
Sujana Aryal (15:09):
Well, firstly I would like to ... Let me take some time. I don't know how to put it in words. Okay. Firstly, I'm excited to share my experience here in the US with my colleagues, my friends in the ministry, also with my seniors, everything that I learned here, not just on a report, but things that I really learned personally. And then the other thing is that before coming to this diplomatic program, I was posted to my embassy in Bahrain and it is my first posting. In a month after I return from here, I will leave for Bahrain.
John Rieger (15:52):
It's exciting.
Sujana Aryal (15:53):
It is very exciting.
John Rieger (15:55):
A little bit nervous.
Sujana Aryal (15:55):
A little bit nervous as I'm talking about it.
Tracie Yang (15:58):
You're like, "Uh, yeah."
Sujana Aryal (15:59):
Yes, I have a lot of images in my mind, but then I am an optimistic person, so hopefully it'll be one of the best.
John Rieger (16:09):
What about you Dong Anh? What does the year ahead hold for you?
Nguyen Dong Anh (16:11):
Oh, I don't want to think about it because we need to settle everyday work, and it's a big amount of work. Recently elected as the secretary of the Youth Union at the Ministry of Foreign Affair, so I have the responsibilities. I had an opportunity to come here to learn from others. I have the responsibility to share with the younger colleagues back home, and I will try to expand the network. Right now we have a network of 15 cohorts this year. Why don't we do something after this? I mean, we cannot just stop after three weeks. I'm thinking [inaudible 00:16:51] seminar or reconnecting, and maybe I would try to invite some of them to speak with my student and my younger colleagues. That's a thing that I could do that is benefit from this fellowship. Yeah.
John Rieger (17:06):
Young diplomats, Nguyen Dong Anh of Vietnam and Sujana Aral of Nepal, thank you so much for joining us today.
Sujana Aryal (17:14):
Thank you so much.
Nguyen Dong Anh (17:15):
Thank you so much for having us, and we hope to invite you to visit our country [inaudible 00:17:20].
Sujana Aryal (17:20):
Yes, please do come to Nepal.
Nguyen Dong Anh (17:22):
[inaudible 00:17:23] very soon.
John Rieger (17:24):
That's our podcast for this week. For news and updates about the young Asian diplomats and all of our Asia Foundation programs and fellowships, keep your browser pointed to asiafoundation.org.
Tracie Yang (17:34):
And while you're there, why not subscribe to the InAsia podcast. We've got an inside line.
John Rieger (17:40):
Until next time, I'm John Rieger.
Tracie Yang (17:42):
And I'm Tracy Yang.
John Rieger (17:44):
Thanks for listening.