The graduates, including 54 men and 30 women, were trained by local experts from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of South Sudan.

This is the first training of its kind taking place in Juba for protocol officers from the Presidency.

The awarded protocol officers include those from the office of the President and his five deputies, Parliament, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Interior.

Others are other government institutions and a representative of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement Youth League.

The graduates were trained at the institute from 12th December 2022 to 27th January 2023.

Speaking during the ceremony, the representative of the graduates only identified as Emmanuel says the training will help them to narrow the gap between the leadership.

“With this training, I will assure you that the relationship and interactions gap between our leaders of different political backgrounds and affiliations will be narrowed and reduced to almost zero by this group of wonderful protocol officers, through using the skills they acquired here and the relationship they built with one another from different department of our public institutions,” said Emmanuel.

For his part, Dr. Ajang Joseph who spoke on behalf of the instructors urge the leadership to encourage the training of diplomas and protocol officers locally.

He also calls for more funding for the diplomat institute.

“I would also love to encourage the leadership of Your Excellency to give more funds to the diplomatic institute in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” said Joseph.

“We are working hard to breach the gap brought to us by the poverty of knowledge and we cannot have a high standard and high level of leadership if we don’t train, and the training always needs financial resources.”

Speaking at the same occasion the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Deng Dau says plans are underway for the deployment of more protocol officers and public relations officers.

“You are expected to recognize the fact that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation is the point of contact between the national government and the outside world therefore you cannot, and you should not communicate without passing through the Ministry of Foreign,” said Deng Dau.

“You should not arrange meetings with visiting or resident foreign dignitaries without involving the Ministry of Foreign and International Cooperation.”

For her part, Vice President Rebecca Nyandeng De Mabior urged graduates to change the image of diplomacy and protocol of South Sudan.

Nyandeng encourages the graduates to use dialogue in a bad situation instead of a hot temper.

“Due to our hot temper, this training is the one which will really help you, first of all, is counseling you indirectly because of a trauma you people have gone through. This one will train you to calm down,” said Nyandeng.

“You are the one to help us because all of us are crazy, you will calm us down including me, I am telling my staff when you see me getting crazy calm me down.”