ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has urged the diplomats to be innovative and mould themselves according to modern demands of diplomacy to achieve goals efficiently and effectively.

Addressing the graduation ceremony of a diplomatic course at the Foreign Service Academy in Islamabad on Wednesday, he said a series of reforms have been instituted in the foreign ministry which is today more open to inputs for policy formulation.  He said we are interacting with different segments of the society including the think tanks to get a fresh perspective.

He however said the foreign policy has to be led by the diplomats whilst accommodating the inputs from different stakeholders.

The Foreign Minister said our diplomats need to be more articulate and effective team members who think out of box and deliver results.  He said we are employing images, graphics and videos to better communicate with the wider array of audiences.  He said specialized cells including crisis management and Kashmir cells have been established to deliver better results.

The Foreign Minister stressed that a better civil service is important to provide good governance. He said the political leaders give their ideas and policies and it is the civil service which have to implement them. He said we want the foreign ministry to be such an institution that is strong enough to give the leadership that the nation requires.