Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans his Department has to ensure that diplomats receive training on local faith communities in advance of postings.

​The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) provides a wide range of resources to ensure that staff understand the influence of faith on foreign policy. For the past few years, we have offered two-day courses on religious literacy, in partnership with the London School of Economics. Other courses are held throughout the year, often tailored to geographical departments, for example the Political Islam, and Ethnic and Religious minorities in the Middle East and North Africa courses. In countries where religion has an impact on the work of a diplomat, this is covered in both pre-posting briefings and during the first few weeks following arrival at post. More generally, religion and diplomacy forms part of the 'Key Themes in International Politics' module of the Diplomatic Academy, which is compulsory for new fast stream entrants into the FCO.