Sixteen Malaysian diplomats joined DFAT officers and graduates for a roundtable meeting and morning tea hosted by the Australia-Malaysia Institute (AMI) at DFAT on Monday 11 August 2014. A panel of senior departmental officers spoke about bilateral, regional and diplomatic perspectives of importance to Australia and Malaysia. Discussions highlighted the strong and diverse relationship between the two countries, and the role of the AMI in supporting people-to-people links across a broad set of cultural exchange visits, public policy programs, interfaith visits and media programs.

This Malaysian visit forms part of a Diploma in Diplomacy from the Malaysian Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations (IDFR), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malaysia. Each year 15-20 officers visit a foreign country to develop essential knowledge and skills as a career diplomat.

This was a great opportunity for diplomats from Malaysia and Australia to share experiences. One of the Malaysian attendees, Dilbar Ab Rashid, who was a former member of DFAT's 2012 International Participation in Graduate Training, also had the opportunity to meet with previous participants Kim Northwood and Jamie McPherson.