Liberia’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Amb. Dee-Maxwell Saah Kemayah Sr. has cautioned students of the 69th graduating class of the Gabriel L. Dennis Foreign Service Institute to remain focused and do their best in representing Liberia. Amb. Kemayah noted that they have been prepared by the best professors and instructors, and encouraged them to go out and make the difference.
Serving as Key Note Speaker, Amb. Kemayah spoke on the Theme “The Role of The Diplomatic Personnel in Enhancing the Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development Amidst the Global COVID-19 Pandemic”.
According to him, the ongoing reform activities at the foreign ministry are linked to the execution of the Foreign policy objective of President George Manneh Weah as ensnared in the Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development of the ruling Coalition For Democratic Change, the CDC PAPD. The reform includes the introduction of a rigorous reform to be used as a tool for image building, productivities, cost-effectiveness, cost benefits, efficiency, transparency, accountability, added value for tax-payers Money, equal opportunity for all, personnel welfare, a stronger sense of belongingness as well as the basis for functional transformation for development. He said, one of his administration’s targets is human resource development including the training of personnel to improve performance and ensure high-level productivity.
The Diplomat noted that the 69th graduation ceremony coincided with the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the school, which is historic as it is the first graduating class under his term as Minister of Foreign Affairs. Addressing his audience on Friday, November 26, 2021, Amb. Kemayehh added that the impact of the covid-19 pandemic on the conduct of classes which limited the capacities of the attendance of students and participation of professors was discouraging for continuity. He said, the institute opened on January 28, 2020, and classes ran for six months and later got halted on March 17, 2020, because of the CIVID-19 pandemic; it remained closed for nearly a year; the institute recommenced classes in November, only to close again because of the resurgent of the covid-19; classes later resumed in April 2021 with full adherence to the health protocol instituted by the Ministry of Health in the fight against the covid-19 Pandemic.
Giving thanks and appreciation to the faculty and staff of the Gabriel L. Dennis Foreign Service Institute for selecting him as the Keynote Speaker for the occasion, the Foreign Affairs Minister paid special tribute to the late Secretary of State Gabriel L. Dennis, under whose administration the Foreign Service Institute, FSI was established, as well as other Secretary of States and Foreign Ministers of the Republic of Liberia for their continuous supports to the Institute for the enhancement of the nation’s foreign policy objectives.
45 candidates obtained Post Graduate Diploma in contemporary development diplomacy, 13 female candidates and 32 male. The ceremony witnessed the graduation of two senior government officials including Police Inspector General Hon. Patrick T Sudue and LBS Director-General Mrs. Estella Liberty Kamboh. The two graduated with distinction leaving indelible marks at the institution. Both honorable Sudue and Madam Kamoh graduated as Valedictorian and Salutatorian respectively.
