On the sidelines of the High Level General Debate of the 63rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, H.E. Mr. Osman Saleh, Foreign Minister of the State of Eritrea met with Prof. Vince Sinning, Deputy Secretary General of EUCLID-IOSD, and mapped out program of actions for the Ministry's capacity building efforts.

Early in 2007, the State of Eritrea was the first State to sign the Memorandum of Understanding with EUCLID, an intergovernmental educational framework for sustainable development. EUCLID dedicates not only in fostering development through education (notably by providing scholarships to government staff) but as well as in providing in the field assistance and institutional workshops in matters pertaining to capacity building and sustainable democracy.

One of Minister Saleh's top priorities is to improve governance, leadership, mission and strategy, administration, program development and implementation, foreign policy planning and positioning at the Foreign Ministry. He strongly believes that capacity building will give better functionality, flexibility, and efficiency among all officials and staff members of the Ministry, particularly to all diplomats posted overseas, to adapt to the changing needs and challenges of the 21st century.

As part of EUCLID's program of technical cooperation with the participating States, select officers at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs now enjoy the various scholarship programs in specialized fields such as Diplomacy and International Affairs, Sustainable Development, E-Government and Informaton Technology, among others.

Meanwhile, Prof. Sinning is currently preparing programs and activities for immediate implementation that will help develop specific skills and competencies, and general upgrading of performance abilities to the members of the delegation of Eritrea's Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York. Prof. Sinning will also mobilize a group of experts that will assist and work closely with H.E. Ambassador Araya Desta (and his staff members) in advancing the interests of the State of Eritrea at the United Nations.