Financial Times

Economic diplomacy turned upside down
The Chinthanaya and the commitments in the acceptance speech appear to be ignored by the different ministries and bureaucrats. The Chamber Leaders have abandoned pursuing their recommended strategy of Economic Diplomacy and Care Services for national ecoomic value enhancement.

The Commercial Attaches of Sri Lankan embassies are yet the “Cinderella” amongst the DPL staff. They yet have no specific budgets for promotion of exports and investments and lack funds even to travel out of the city in pursuit of such strategies. The promotion of the country, the private sector and sectoral interests, establishment of a national brand value for the country and promoting its unique competitive advantages are not diplomatic objectives. The “Cinderella’s” lack much needed communications support and at times even lack direct telephone connections.

The private sector Chamber initiative, along with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Trade and Commerce, to establish a special coordination desk and to jointly fund the promotions on commercial terms (by the securitization of the future royalties recoverable from members of chambers) and introduce a scheme of incentives and success fees for the DPL staff of Embassies, appear consigned to locked cupboards.

The dual functional responsibility to two ministries lands the Commercial Attaches in the “Cinderella” category. They receive fewer resources, less attention and support and are usually left out in key operational guidelines and objectives setting processes covering DPL staff of embassies.

They are even denied link up advantages to their own and other ministries, departments and entities charged with similar objectives of economic value creation. Consequently even the few initiatives progressed by the commercial sections remain unsupported and not followed up.

Other ministries prefer to operate independently and appear to have no lack of resources, especially to fund promotional visits of ministers and their large personal entourages. The embassy personnel are mere personal valets and entertainers of these visitors.

Even the follow up responsibilities are not assigned to commercial staff. The Export Development Board and Board of Investment (BOI) operate independently and at most times without any association and follow up links with the commercial attaché of the embassies. They even set up independent establishments and links in the overseas territories outside the embassy facilities.

The duplication of effort and the inefficiency and ineffectiveness that results consequently is predictable. In the UK, the highest contributor to tourist numbers to the country, an efficient officer in tourism promotion has been transferred and replaced by a Sri Lankan with supposedly greater connections to UK. However, he lacks the required knowledge of Sri Lankan local network, historical and cultural values and links necessary for effective promotion. It is also reported that a nominee of the Tea Promotional entity, resident in Poland, is charged with the development of the UK tea market. The commercial staff of the embassy is thus not assigned responsibilities for the promotion of two of the most key national economic contributors.

More strange appears the news that the military attaches of Canada, UK and France have been withdrawn on a policy decision. This leaves a vacuum in promotion of national interests in internal security, law and order, control of terrorism and most importantly provision of advisory services to potential investors and trade partners.

The strangest news flowing from the Sri Lankan embassies overseas is that the officers attached, especially those engaged in trade and investment promotion are not encouraged to learn the language of the host country. Even where the embassy staff acquires such proficiency the costs incurred in tuition, books and aides are not reimbursed.

Who is accountable within the current structure to watch for opportunities and threats to the development of trade in goods and services and investments? Who is responsible for establishment of a common brand value for the nation as an advantageous destination for trade, tourism and investment?

How and through whom are competitive advantages of the nation and the private sector established in the host countries? Who and how are the information and data of value to Chambers and private sector for trade and investments gathered and disseminated? Who is responsible and has the capacity to watch out for laws, regulations, standards and restrictions emerging from host nations, especially the EU, WTO, GATT, ESCAP, etc?

What happened to the Chamber initiative to leverage the Diaspora as goodwill ambassadors for trade and investment and effective promotion of tourism, and Sri Lankan produce and services in the host nations?

What happened to the initiative to effectively promote Sri Lanka through Care Services- Care of the Body, Care of Life Styles and Care of the Mind leveraging Ayurvedha, herbal massages, mindfulness and meditation? The unique advantage of the philosophy of Theravada Buddhism to promote the national brand value has also been forgotten!

Chamber leaders, dig in to your file cupboards and review, agree and pursue with passion your own value adding strategies and bench mark commercial sections of foreign embassies operating in Sri Lanka with our own in the host countries to draw lessons.

(The writer could be reached at wo_owl@yahoo.co.uk).

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