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Wednesday, 2 November 2016 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
The Foreign Minister and his Deputy have time and again mentioned the need to streamline the Ministry and its overseas missions to enable it to play an effective role in promoting trade and investment.
At the recently held meeting of the Young Lankan Entrepreneurs (COYLE), the Deputy Minister had presented the Ministry’s priority task of addressing the issue of creating a dedicated and more effective method of promoting Sri Lanka as a trading and investment destination to the world using the platform of its overseas missions. He had reiterated this commitment by the Ministry subsequently at a Rotary District event. He stated: “The Ministry wants our foreign embassies to be more productive and to be more profitable to Sri Lanka.”
The dawn of democratic governance, adherence to the rule of law and some of the progressive measures already adopted towards reconciliation and communal harmony have gained the acceptance and appreciation of many in the international community. Hence the vision of the Minister and his Deputy to draw in foreign investment and promote international trade through our foreign missions in the backdrop of this positive environment appears promising and achievable.
In view of this laudable measure I felt it opportune to highlight some of the recommendations made by me to the Foreign Secretary, vide my letter of 26 February 2015 at the tail end of my brief tour of duty as Head of Mission in Bagdad, Iraq.
During my brief stint of less than six months I realised that a relatively small mission such as Baghdad, operating in a turbulent atmosphere, could still play a pivotal role in promoting trade and investment if there was commitment and will to adopt a positive role by the officials concerned.
In my captioned letter, I highlighted some of the progressive measures that we implemented such as the setting up of the Data Bank of Sri Lankans employed and domiciled in Iraq; steps taken to lift the ban imposed by the Iraqi Government on importation of coconut fibre from Sri Lanka; facilitating the shifting of the Chancery and Residence to two modern buildings at lower rents in an upmarket area in Bagdad; adopting cost-cutting measures in terms of services such as electricity, computers, phones and courier; recommending the setting up of a consular office in the peaceful and economically advanced semiautonomous region of Kurdistan.
I also suggested that the Ministry circulars which were outdated, some of which have been issued as far back as 1960, be amended. I also pointed out the need to fully utilise all the features of the Comprehensive Integrated Computer System (CIGAS), which will enable the disposal of archaic carbon copy voucher system journals and ledgers; the need to discontinue dispatching a bulk of old newspapers in the diplomatic bag was also mentioned as in this electronic age newspapers could be accessed via the internet.
Under the cover of the captioned letter I also forward a schedule of Recommended Promotional Activities to be undertaken by our overseas missions under the Heading ‘Sri Lankan Missions – The Way Forward’. It spelt out relevant action to be undertaken in respect of the following areas:
The above mentioned perspectives may not be a comprehensive and complete list. Nevertheless, I opine that it may be of some benefit in the formulation of a pragmatic plan to juxtapose traditional diplomacy with economic diplomacy.
M.S.M. Liyawdeen
