September 26, 2012

The Centre for Conflict and Peace Studies (CAPS) was honoured to host Ambassador Seong Doo of the Republic of Korea for a luncheon meeting on 26 September 2012. Ambassador Seong Doo was accompanied by Mr. You Dong-Hyun and Mr. Park Jae-wan who serve as First Secretary and Councillor at the Korean Embassy in Kabul, respectively. CAPS Director, Mr. Hekmat Khalil Karzai, welcomed the guests with an informal presentation regarding vast scope of CAPS’ research and activities in Afghanistan.
As South Korea’s military withdrawal comes to a close in the coming months, Ambassador Seong Doo emphasized Korea’s commitment to remaining inside Afghanistan as not only a diplomatic presence, but also serving in training and development capacities as needed.
Ambassador Seong Doo expressed conviction that education must serve as the capstone of Afghanistan’s long-term development strategy.
This attitude was echoed by CAPS, who has had tremendous success providing supplementary education and leadership training in our Youth Peace Movement and Empowerment Centre in the capital of Helmand Province, Lashkar Gah. In its first phase, the YPMEC trained over 1200 students on various subjects including Computers, Kankor Preparation, and Leadership.
After discussing Korea’s on-going activities in the country, Ambassador Seong Doo expressed a strong interest in building a partnership with CAPS. Director Karzai and the Ambassador spoke on specific ways in which CAPS and the Korean Embassy may form a meaningful, lasting exchange.
CAPS will proceed ahead in working with the Korean Embassy to meet their research and training needs.