Washington (TDI): President of Institute of Peace and Diplomatic Studies (IPDS) and Chairperson of Diplomatic Insight Group (DIG), Dr. Farhat Asif, is participating in the ongoing International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP).
As a flagship professional exchange program of the United States State Department, IVLP 2025 started on August 23rd and will continue till September 13. This year’s focus is on entrepreneurship and small business development.
The participants will visit six US cities, Washington, Albany New York, Burlington Vermont, Iowa City, and Los Angeles California, each with focused visits as per the sub themes.
Sharing her thoughts online, Dr. Farhat said that is honored to represent her country, Pakistan, at a platform which has produced world leaders.
The themes which will guide these visits are federalism and support for entrepreneurs at different levels of government, support for female founders, state and regional strategies that foster small business development, legal requirements for small business, scaling businesses and leveraging e-commerce, and more.
Since its inception in 1940, more than 230,000 international leaders have taken part in the IVLP including over 500 alumni that have become heads of state or government, 12 Nobel Laureates, 1,600+ Cabinet Ministers, 1,000+ members of Parliament, and numerous leaders in industry, science, and academia.
Participants for the program are handpicked by US embassies worldwide and there are no open applications processes to determine who gets to be a part of IVLP.
This year’s program aims to introduce American business models that support small business growth and economic development to participants.
Discussions and site visits will highlight the social, economic, legal, and political factors that encourage the development of private enterprise.
The Diplomatic Insight is a digital and print magazine focusing on diplomacy, defense, and development publishing since 2009.
