2024, April 22
Share this articleOn April 15, 2024, Alan Hamson, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Canada in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan delivered an engaging guest lecture for NU community members.
The title of the lecture was "Contested Space: Dilemmas in Global Affairs and Statecraft". Hosted by the NU Department of Internationalization, NU GSPP Student Council, and NU Graduate Student Union, the guest lecture garnered considerable attention from the faculty, staff, and students of NU.
Hamsom discussed the world's ongoing political, economic, and diplomatic affairs, emphasizing the interconnected nature of global issues and the necessity for international collaboration to solve them. He highlighted the current challenges faced by states, including geopolitical tensions, economic uncertainties in the era of deglobalization, and the impact of climate change on nations worldwide.
Additionally, Hamsom shared his experience from his diplomatic service in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Canada and his diplomatic mission to Kazakhstan. He shared about the diplomatic ties between Canada and Central Asian nations, noting the importance of fostering strong partnerships based on mutual interests such as trade, security cooperation, education, and cultural exchange.
Ambassador Hamson is a distinguished diplomat with an extensive educational background in Political Science, Law, and Public Administration. Before being assigned as the Head of the Canadian diplomatic mission to Kazakhstan, his career included domestic roles in the Human Rights, Humanitarian Affairs, and International Gender Equality Division (2004–2005), National Security Branch of the Privy Council Office (2013–2015), and Director of Strategic Planning and Coordination in the Peace and Stabilization Operations Program (2018–2021) in Canada. Internationally, the ambassador held positions in Beijing (2006–2009), the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Kandahar, Afghanistan (2009–2010), and Kabul, Afghanistan (2010–2012).
