(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 2.​ Today, the first introductory meeting with volunteers accepted into the Diplomacy Volunteers group for 2025–2026 was held in the administrative building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, Trend reports via the Azerbaijani MFA.

The meeting was addressed by Aykhan Hajizada, spokesperson for the ministry, and Raman Mammadov, head of the HR department.

In the course of the meeting, volunteers received insights about the ministry's activities and structure, the group functions, and the program content.

The meeting noted that, following the directive of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev to involve volunteers in state institutions, the“Diplomacy Volunteers” group was established on June 1, 2019, for students and graduates studying international relations and related fields. Since its inception, 300 participants have graduated from the volunteer program.

In August of this year, following an open call, more than 1,000 candidates registered for membership via the ministry's official website (compared to approximately 400 last year), and based on the results of online interviews with eligible candidates, 95 were accepted into the diplomacy volunteers group.

The six-month volunteer program will offer young participants an in-depth understanding of the ministry's organizational framework, provide valuable insights for professional development, and equip them with practical skills through internships across various departments. Additionally, the program includes training on a range of topics and visits to key state institutions and the recently liberated territories.

The primary objective of this initiative is to enhance volunteers' comprehension of critical post-conflict foreign policy priorities, including Azerbaijan's bilateral and multilateral relations, regional and international initiatives, as well as key areas such as defense, energy security, transport and communications, climate change mitigation, and parliamentary diplomacy. The program also aims to deepen understanding of the reconstruction and development efforts in the liberated territories and the ongoing normalization process between Azerbaijan and Armenia, while cultivating essential knowledge and skills for those aspiring to pursue careers in diplomacy

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