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INSTITUTE OF DIPLOMACY AND FOREIGN RELATIONS                                                                                                                                                         INSTITUTE OF DIPLOMACY AND FOREIGN RELATIONS
      MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, MALAYSIA                                                                                                                                                                       MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, MALAYSIA


                                                     IDFR IN


                                                 30 YEARS












            The Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations    officially opened on 8 January 2009, by Prime Minister
            (IDFR) was initially started as a centre and        Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad Badawi, and designated as the
            inaugurated as the Centre for International Relations   campus of IDFR.
            and Strategic Studies in 1979. It operated as part
            of the Government Officers Training Centre of the
            National Institute of Public Administration (INTAN).
            On 8 March 1991, it was rebranded as an institute,
            following a Cabinet decision on its establishment
            for a dedicated entity on all matters related to
            diplomacy and foreign relations. The institute
            was officially placed under the Prime Minister’s
            Department and officiated as the Institute of
            Diplomacy and Foreign Relations, thus the acronym
            IDFR, on 12 August 1991 by Prime Minister Dr
            Mahathir Mohamad. Ambassador Albert S. Talalla, a             IDFR before its full completion in 2005
            freshly retired diplomat from Malaysia’s Mission in
            Washington D.C. was appointed as the first Director-  The Institute holds many poignant memories and
            General.                                            seen many milestones. It has been visited by many
                                                                statesmen, world leaders and distinguished politicians.
            In 2001, the Institute was relocated to new premises   A multitude of parliamentarians, congressmen and
            on Jalan Wisma Putra, and officially placed under the   senior civil servants too have walked up the stairs into
            Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As an anecdote, the premises   the lobby of the building. The Treaty Room was witness
            was given by the British as the official residence to the   to many treaties – thus the name, that were negotiated
            Chief Minister of the Federation of Malaya, Yang Teramat   and signed there. It had also witnessed many debates
            Mulia Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra al-Haj from 1955 to   and information-sharing between Wisma Putra officials.
            1957. When the Ministry moved into the premise from
            the Sultan Abdul Samad Building in 1966, it decided to   Serving as one of the key agencies under the Ministry,
            name it in Tunku’s honour, hence Wisma Putra. Later, as   the Institute performs various critical functions,
            the Ministry was expanded, the name was carried to the   including as a training arm to the Ministry, research
            Ministry’s new premises, which is Wisma Putra complex   centre, event organiser and think tanker, mainly
            in Putrajaya. The premises in Bukit Petaling was handed   concerning diplomacy and foreign relations. Through
            over to the Institute, and after some renovations, was   its four centres, various programmes and activities




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                  2021 ANNUAL REPORT                                                                                                                                                                                 2021 ANNUAL REPORT
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