Enhancing Diplomatic Competence

Yuba Nath Lamsal:--- A country is not merely a geographic territory but a collective expression of people living within a certain territorial boundary. A country is made up of certain features and characteristics. The Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States 1933 has set certain standard definitions of a legitimate and sovereign country, which include a defined territory, permanent population, constitution, a functioning government and international recognition. The world is a global family of nations consisting of 193 members of the United Nations and two non-member observer states (Vatican City and Palestine). Countries are like human beings. Irrespective of physical size, economic and other strength, all countries in the world have equal sovereign status. However, countries are not fully self-reliant on all fronts and are interdependent. Like individuals, nations require interaction with other members of the global family. Countries have their own interests and priorities based on which relations between countries are defined and handled. Interactions:----- As the world is getting ever more inter-dependent and inter-connected, countries cannot survive and prosper in isolation. Thus they need to interact and cooperate with other countries. The interactions and management of relations among nations is international relations. The strategy with clear goals, objectives and priorities to handle relations with other countries and external actors is defined as foreign policy. Foreign policy is, therefore, a strategy, while diplomacy is a tool to achieve the foreign policy goals. Protection of national interests has been the primary goal, objectives and priorities of Nepal’s foreign policy, which are clearly outlined in the constitution. Article 5 of the Constitution of Nepal states ‘safeguarding independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, nationality, dignity, rights of the people, border security, economic wellbeing and prosperity’ are the fundamental elements of national interest. The entire focus and efforts of Nepal’s foreign policy are, therefore, laid on achieving these fundamental goals. Foreign policy is the broader strategy that deals with what is to be achieved, whereas diplomacy is the means that is more concerned with how to achieve the foreign policy goals. A country’s security, stability, freedom and economic prosperity are the core issues to which foreign policy and diplomacy are directed. Possible threat to these broader elements of foreign policy goals are to be identified based on which means and actions are to be accordingly applied to protect these interests. What are then the threats to our independence, sovereignty, security, stability, freedom and economic prosperity? And what tools and means are to be applied to deter possible threats and assure the people that necessary measures are being taken for the protection and promotion of national interests? The fundamental motto of Nepal’s external relations is the ‘amity with all and enmity to none’. Nepal is fully adherent to the UN Charter, the five principles of peaceful co-existence and non-alignment. Nepal supports, in both principle and practice, a peaceful and rules-based international order. It always opposes wars, conflicts and the use of threat but seeks to settle disputes and conflicts through peaceful negotiation and diplomacy. In this lies the broader interest, security and welfare of humanity. Nepal, based on these avowed and time-tested principles and values, has been regularly participating in and contributing to UN peace-keeping missions in the world. While old challenges continue to persist, some newer problems have come up posing an acute threat to humanity. Climate change, economic meltdown and technological disruption are some of the pressing issues the world is facing. An individual or a single country, however powerful it may be, cannot solve these global problems. Cooperation and collective wisdom, joint efforts and cooperative initiatives of all countries are necessary to successfully overcome these issues. These are global problems that have inflicted the entire world, but developing countries like Nepal are likely to suffer more as they often face resource paucity to fight against simmering social, economic, climatic and technological threats. In such a tougher situation, good governance accompanied by result-oriented actions at home and effective, proactive and competent diplomacy abroad are urgent to create a more conducive international atmosphere for cooperation among nations. Attributes of diplomats:---- An ambassador is the chief diplomat representing the country in the host state, who requires a higher degree of diplomatic qualities and acumen. These qualities include, among others, strategic thinking and knowledge of the international system, global issues, geo-political sensitivity, the nature of power rivalry and international balance of power. Diplomats also require other abilities like power of persuasion, patience, perseverance, sensitivity, social and cultural adaptability, honesty, integrity, commitment, articulation ability, knowledge about foreign policy objectives and priorities, familiarity with bilateral, multilateral, economic, cultural and public diplomacy, thorough knowledge of Vienna Convention, fluency in the language of communication, literacy in technology, understanding of host country’s political system, cultural and social setting. The global geopolitics is getting more complicated and Asia or our neighbourhood is increasingly emerging as a pivot of new geopolitical contention. In this complex geopolitical scenario, our diplomatic capability needs to be further enhanced to cope with the newer challenges in the world. Thus, Nepali diplomats are required to be equipped with professional excellence, as even the slightest error lands a diplomat in trouble and also tarnishes the image of the country. This demands the necessity to thoroughly train and educate ambassadors and other diplomats on diplomatic abilities and nuisances before they are assigned to different countries. In this regard, the Institute of Foreign Affairs (IFA) conducts a few days of orientation for the ambassadors before they depart to take up diplomatic assignments abroad. However, that is not adequate. Similarly, other diplomatic staff, too, do not possess deep and thorough knowledge and understanding on diplomacy except for some procedural tasks. Against this background, IFA needs to be made more active and resourceful with adequate budget and human resources so that it can enhance its professional capability and serve as the country’s best institution in diplomatic training and foreign policy research. This is required because Nepal’s only leverage in the international arena is effective and proactive diplomacy, which can be achieved only by professional and competent diplomats. (The author is a former chief editor of this daily and a former ambassador. lamsalyubanath@gmail.com)