I'm going to meet some ambassadors tomorrow!

So here's the deal.

At the start of this year, I became a member of the local DUNSA (Dutch United Nations Student Association), and tomorrow (15/11/2012) they have organised a kind of "speed-dating" event with several diplomats, for which I too, applied. I suppose I have roughly 2 hours to speak with four ambassadors of these countries (in no particular order)

- Israel
- Georgia
- Azarbaijan
- Canada

Now I have had some ideas for some interesting questions I could ask these people, but I was wondering what any of you would ask if you had the chance to meet ambassador to either country. I have loads of things I could ask Israel and Azarbaijan, but Canada and Georgia pose some trouble, as I haven't done that much research for either country.

Let me know!

Ask the Canadian ambassador if he can hook you up with duty-free Tim Hortons. :yes:

On the serious side, I suppose you could bring up South Ossetia with the Georgian.

Yeah, South Ossetia was definitely something I felt like was important. In particular, I would ask him something along the lines of "speaking in hindsight, how could the South-Ossetian and Abhkazian secession movements have been avoided?".

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Originally Posted by Hax

Yeah, South Ossetia was definitely something I felt like was important. In particular, I would ask him something along the lines of "speaking in hindsight, how could the South-Ossetian and Abhkazian secession movements have been avoided?".

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Do you really want to do that? It seems like that was embarrassing and a big hit on their national pride. Perhaps you can ask more general questions on their relationship with Russia.

Canada is pretty, well, boring. They take great pride in their UN peacekeeping missions and would love to talk about that.

Thirty minutes will go by quick. Good job though! :thumbsup:

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Do you really want to do that? It seems like that was embarrassing and a big hit on their national pride. Perhaps you can ask more general questions on their relationship with Russia.

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I'm not quite sure. I don't feel like I should ignore the South-Ossetia and Abkhazia issues as they are probably one of the biggest events in the Caucasus in the last couple of decennia.

EDIT: I have made a rough draft of the questions I want to ask. Probably, I'll be citing an anecdote or something like that before getting to the point itself or something like that:

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• Israel: a state that has been and is still threatened by some of its neighbours. Apart from that, it is also well-known because of the ongoing Palestinian issue which has resulted in clashes between Palestinian militant organisations and the Israeli government
• Georgia: a Christian ex-Soviet republic in an overwhelmingly Islamic region; apart from that, recent conflicts between the Russian Federal Republic and the Georgian state has resulted in the de facto autonomy of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
• Azarbaijan: like Georgia, an ex-Soviet republic with an overwhelmingly Muslim population; a major supplier of oil to aforementioned Israel, which has also suffered from Iranian cultural interference
• Canada: the only non-Middle-Eastern state that will be interviewed, particular because of its bilingual population, Québec City is the largest French-speaking city after Paris. Canada has also seen terrorist attacks from secessionist movements in the 1970s that have currently largely died out.

Israel

• Its political ties with Turkey, the only secular Muslim republic, and the way ties have detoriated over the past months; does Israel feel Turkey's support is vital?
• The recent events in Syria; what does Israel expect will happen in Syria? Would they support a Libyan-style uprising against Bashar al-Assad?
• Israels position concerning Iran and in particular, its assessment of the situation of the Iranian Jews: would mistreatment of the Jewish community be a casus belli for the Israeli government?
• The imagery of Israel in the West: does Israel find itself portrayed in a positive or negative way and what could be improved and in what way?
• How does Israel feel about right-wing Zionist extremists in the country? What would be the best way to deal with them, if there would be a way at all?

Notes on Israel:Little to no mention of the Palestinian issue on its own, referencesmay be made, but always in the context of another subject.


Georgia

• How would Georgia define itself, as a Christian state in a Muslim-majority region, Middle-Eastern, European, or neither?
• In hindsight, what might have been prevented the 2008 Russo-Georgian War and the subsequent recognition by Russia of South-Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states?
• The feeling is that Georgia is not a particularly well-known country in Europe, leave alone in the United States. What would be the cause of this and how may it be resolved?

Noteson Georgia: the South-Ossetia/Abkhazia issue is of particulardelicacy, care should be taken not to unnecessarily offend theambassador.


Azerbaijan

• Azerbaijan holds a unique position in the Middle-East, it possesses large quantities of gas and oil that are important in the Israel market. Because of this unique position, does Azerbaijan feel inclined to actively participate in the politics surrounding Israel?
• In terms of foreign policy, does Azerbaijan feel more compelled to look towards Iran, Russia, Europe or the Arab world?
• Concerning the issues with Armenia and the particularities surrounding the Nagarno-Karabakh region, what is the position of the Azerbaijani government concerning the Armenian Genocide? → is it comparable to the Turkish point of view?
• Historically, Azerbaijani Iranians have played a large role in Iranian politics, and currently there is a sizeable minority of Azeris living in Iran. Does the Azerbaijani government feel responsible for the well-being of these people and how does that tie into the Azerbaijani relationship with Iran?
• In 2006, riots broke out after a newspaper published a critical story on Islam, subsequently some people spoke of Iranian influence in Azarbaijan. How does the Azarbaijani government feel about these allegations, and if they are true, how are they be stopped, if all?

Noteson Azerbaijan: The issue of Nabarno-Karabakh is still important, talkabout it carefully. First highlight the relationship with Iran andAzeri Iranians, afterwards, talk about the riots.
Canada

• As a nation that has suffered from violent secessionist movements that were largely peacefully resolved, how does Canada look towards nations that suffer from the same kind of problems?
• In the last elections, the Bloc Québecois lost many of their voters. What was the cause for the lack of confidence of Québecois voters for the secessionist party?
• In a relatively personal example, it seems that effectively developing projects that concern federal, provincial and local governments is nearly impossible (such as the construction of a third bridge connecting Québec to Ontario). Is there a way to streamline these issues or at least increase the effectiveness
• Comparisons are often made between Canada and the USA in which Canadians (and Canada) are portrayed as friendly, fairly calm people. Are there any specific things that the USA could “learn” from Canada, especially regarding domestic issues (healthcare being a key issue here)

Noteson Canada: Not as politically tense as Israel, Azerbaijan andGeorgia. Good for relatively casual and informal conversation.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zs7gAxsfK5U

If one of them doesnt bring a few Ferrero Rocher for ye to munch on then ye know he is a cheapskate

Might want to ask Canada about Alberta?