Foreign Service Institute Professionals Visit QAIC

On April 11, 2023, more than twenty U.S. officials and instructors of the Foreign Service Institute’s language training program visited Qatar America Institute for Culture (QAIC) to learn more about the different dialects and culture in the Persian Gulf. These countries are often referred to as the Gulf Cooperating Council (GCC) and are comprised of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and the UAE. 

The participants are U.S. officials who have been learning Arabic in the Gulf dialect for their next diplomatic mission. QAIC’s Programs Officer, Nada Darwish, welcomed the U.S. officials in Arabic, spoke about the GCC’s culture and toured VCU-Q’s Research Labs exhibition as well as QAIC’s one-of-a-kind Perfumery Museum in Washington, D.C.  

The visit was a wonderful opportunity for these Foreign Service Officers to experience the diversity of cultures within QAIC, and learn firsthand about Persian Gulf customs and traditions while also practicing their Arabic. To conclude their visit, QAIC welcomed questions before the FSOs headed off to their assigned post.  

QAIC would like to thank the instructors and Foreign Service Officers for visiting and wishes them best of luck in their diplomatic efforts.