Rome, Italy – On 25 November, IDLO held a closing ceremony for its two-week advanced course on the primary legal, institutional and policy aspects of Procurement Policy with special focus on Public-Private Partnerships. It was attended by official representatives and ambassadors, who came to support their fellow nationals at the graduation ceremony. The course was made possible thanks to the generous support of the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development.

The ceremony was inaugurated by the Course Manager Valérie Robert and the Course Director Giulio Zanetti, both of whom made speeches recalling the important role professional training plays in development. The ceremony and reception was attended by H.E. Deo Kajunzire Rwabita, Ambassador of Uganda; Dr. Basel Al-Kayed, Chargé d’Affaires, and Ms. Salwa AL Adailah, Third Secretary, Embassy of Jordan; Ms. Kassa Tasissa Bushan, Second Secretary, Embassy of Ethiopia; Mr. Rajeev Kumar, Head of Commercial Wing, Embassy of India; Mr. Augus Prihatin Saptono, Counselor, Embassy of Indonesia; Mr. Robert Kobia, Counsellor, Embassy of Kenya; Mr. Lourenço Cumbe, Counselor, Embassy of Mozambique; Mr. Amon Fungameza Ruvurola, Minister Counselor, Embassy of Tanzania; Ms. Hazar Sassi Naili, Counselor, Embassy of Tunisia and Ms. Pam Mwananshiku, Counselor, Embassy of Zambia.

Even though the Legal Advisor of the Kuwait Fund, Nawaf Al-Mahamel could not be present, he sent a congratulatory note to the participants which was read out by Robert Buergenthal, IDLO Director of Programs, in which he said “I am proud that this training was made possible thanks to funding from the organization which I represent, the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development. This training is part of a broader program which will be jointly implemented by the Kuwait Fund and IDLO over the coming months.” He concluded by saying that the participants would now be able to “return to their home countries with renewed enthusiasm and the necessary skills and expertise to enable them to carry out their work more efficiently and effectively.”

“You are part of the IDLO network and family now,” were the Course Director’s closing words, to which one the participants responded, “I just want to thank IDLO for this amazing opportunity. It's been a great 2 weeks and I've learnt many new things that will be very useful in my job when I go back to my country.”These words were met with a round of applause and the ceremony concluded with a reception and a group photo.