Sri Lanka pursues economic diplomacy
Sri Lanka is gearing to become the economic hub of the Indian Ocean region strengthening capabilities and improving the business environment as its strategic location potential depends on the right mix of economic reforms and investments.
Deputy Foreign Minister Dr. Harsha de Silva, a pragmatist about engaging with the world especially with South Asia as it is, rather than waiting for it to happen magically, told the Business Times that the Foreign Ministry has already achieved several targets it set under the Economic Diplomacy initiative since last year.
Dr. Harsha de Silva
One of the main achievements so far has been the completion of the Knowledge Platform, an economic knowledge repository that serve as a platform for Sri Lanka’s Missions/Posts to gain easy access to information to promote economic diplomacy and to swiftly service inquiries on trade, investment, tourism and other economic activities.
The information in the Knowledge Platform will be updated periodically. Already the ministry has received positive feedback from several missions regarding using the presentations at events and meetings to promote trade and economic opportunities, he revealed.
The ministry is also focusing on the professional development and building the capacity of officers to act as agents of economic diplomacy within the domain of foreign policy.
As a first step towards providing with the skills and knowledge to identify new opportunities for trade, investment, and project a positive image about Sri Lanka, discussions are underway with the John F. Kennedy School of Government to train young Foreign Ministry officials.
Under this initiative, a 4-month long online collaborative course is to be developed at Harvard University to train Foreign Ministry officials to efficiently use the tools available for economic diplomacy and to effectively project Sri Lanka’s potential overseas, Dr. de Silva disclosed.
The ministry is also striving to improve the efficiency of the internal processes and service delivery in order to make it an efficient vehicle for economic diplomacy and support the country’s economic interests, he added.
The ministry is making a significant overhaul of its ICT infrastructure. The re-engineering of its Consular Division is nearing completion.
A new Human Resource Management System has been launched. A new website with new features such as a social media platform will also be launched shortly.
The Inter-Agency Task Force meeting convened under Economic Diplomacy continues to provide a forum for all stakeholders to discuss the issues relating to their own agencies.
Most recently, the Task Force has focused on issues such as formulation of a framework to address the concerns of business visas to foreign investors and their dependents and obtaining specific economic data for dissemination among the stakeholders, he said.
At the strategic level, the ministry and Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute, the think tank affiliated to the ministry, has been focusing on regional and global developments that affect the economic growth.
“We are attempting to provide insights and recommendations on strategic interests,” he said adding that the global economy programme of the institute has been studying Sri Lanka’s trade, foreign investment and tourism, including on initiatives to reposition Sri Lanka as an economic hub of the Indian Ocean region.