MFA will continue dedicated service under Nicholson, Brown

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Dear Editor,

I read your views on the foreign ministry in your editorial, "If Mr AJ Nicholson fails..." on January 15.

For some time it has been clear to me that the Jamaica Observer has a particularly jaundiced view of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, but decided against responding to what in the main, has been a collection of uresearched prose. After all, we do have serious work at the ministry. Now, from the perspective of the recently retired permanent secretary of that ministry, I have time to encourage you to more rigorous cogitation.

You are correct in your statement that foreign policy is a "vital tool for development". However, you seem to see it as one which demands changing with each new administration. You spoke of "a little tweaking here or there under Dr Kenneth Baugh", indicating your expectation that there should have been some substantial amendment of the policy which had been guiding the foreign service for several years under the previous PNP administration. You are now concerned about what you deem a possible lack of "cerebral activity" because there was no thesis on foreign policy in the PNP's manifesto.

What you have ignored is the fundamental nature of our foreign policy, on which your editorial suggests you have not updated yourself. You have also ignored the fact that it is the team of highly qualified, committed foreign service officers who have provided the yeoman service which has garnered for our ministry a reputation for excellence in the international arena. Policies adopted at the ministerial level demand the "cerebral activity" of the foreign service officers, whose work and worth you have dismissed. Let me suggest that an interview with appropriate representatives of the ministry and also with the diplomatic corps based here in Kingston will put you on the right track. A response to the editorial is not an adequate forum for a proper discussion of our policy.

However, I would just refer two of the patent errors in your editorial. The ministry's deployment of its missions and staff overseas responds not only to the dynamics of our foreign policy, but also to the painful realities of our economy. If you were to consider where our missions are and the nature of our relations with those countries, you would be unable to come up with a justification for the closure of any of them. Additionally, the "tweaking" to which you referred resulted in the establishment of an embassy in Kuwait in 2010 and the ongoing arrangements to open one in Brazil this year. Our plans to place missions in other "emerging economies" have had to be suspended as a result of fiscal challenges, but we have begun the identification of well-placed people to join our network of honorary consuls to promote trade, investment, tourism and access to appropriate technology in those countries.

This leads me to the rationale for deployment and a fundamental of our foreign policy. The most recent Heads of Mission meeting (June 2011) which I chaired, brainstormed on all aspects of our foreign policy, including the concept of economic diplomacy. Although aspects of this concept have been reflected in our interactions with bilateral and multilateral partners, economic diplomacy has not been the deciding factor in the placement of missions and staff and the collaboration with other ministries and public bodies. It also led to a renewed outreach to the private sector and the establishment of the Foreign Trade Advisory Council, chaired by Mr Milton Samuda. This "tweaking" occurred during the stewardship of Dr Ken Baugh and I have every reason to believe this is in line with the vision of the new foreign minister.

You incorrectly spoke of our management systems. I am willing to bet that you have never discussed them with any practitioner in the Ministry or even with the Public Sector Transformation Unit. Promotion is not based on seniority, but on merit. Annual increments are dependent on certification of satisfactory performance. Though several corporate services improvements have occurred in the past few years, there is one critical drawback: inadequacy of funding. This, in fact, has militated against the ICT enhancements which the ministry desperately needs and is the reason for the temporary closure of our website.

I would encourage you to become acquainted with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade and find positive information on which to base your editorials.

The ministry welcomes Mr AJ Nicholson and the new minister of state, Mr Arnaldo Brown, and will continue to render its dedicated service to Jamaica under their leadership.

Ambassador Evadne Coye

Retired Permanent Secretary

MFA&FT

Kingston 5

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MFA will continue dedicated service under Nicholson, Brown