Mr Ralph Thomas, who recently completed a two-year stint as Jamaica’s ambassador to China, has now been tasked with carrying the hopes of Jamaica in his new job as ambassador to the United States and permanent representative to the Organization of American States, effective next month.

Mr Thomas is not a career diplomat and his appointment continues a tradition of appointing people who lectured at the University of the West Indies, Mona, which began with Dr Richard Bernal and continued with Messrs Gordon Shirley, Anthony Johnson and Stephen Vasciannie.

Some will remember that Ambassador Thomas ran unsuccessfully against veteran Jamaica Labour Party MP Pearnel Charles in 2007 in Clarendon North Central. Importantly, he was a senior teaching fellow at the Mona School of Business after a 22-year stint as vice-president of the Bank of New York.

Having worked in the US, he will know that the system of government there, while being more open than the one-party Government of China, is also far more varied and complex. Diplomacy does not begin and end at the C Street entrance of the State Department.

He will also know that he is not ambassador to Washington, but ambassador to the entire US. Much that ends up on the Hill and at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave starts and is influenced elsewhere. In this regard, it is a serious mistake to ignore the Jamaican community in the USA because it is not without its influence. Tending the Jamaican Diaspora like a political constituency or a company’s valued customer base is the way to proceed. It is not a substitute for the critical policy interventions, neither is it disconnected, but balance is needed.

The ambassador must be aware that the abundance of formalities and academic-style debates can deprive the White House side of the portfolio of duties of scarce time. In a similar vein, working with the other Caricom ambassadors can be a useful alliance as long as it doesn’t jeopardise national interests.

It is critical that Mr Thomas understand that, although the appointment of ambassadors is the sole prerogative of the prime minister, he must report to the minister of foreign affairs. Both minister and ambassador must speak regularly and cordially.

In preparing for his new mission, Mr Thomas should confine his consultations to his immediate predecessor. It is our view that he would be well advised to work closely with the very experienced Ambassador Moreno, the top American diplomat in Jamaica.

As for the foreign ministry, we would advise that its senior staff not be rotated at the same time as a new ambassador assumes office, as generally, a new envoy needs a year to settle into the post. Also, note that ambassadors to countries with a large Jamaican community should not demit office until after mid-August, so that they can officiate at the various church services and gala dinners held to celebrate Jamaica’s Independence. (Read Dr Stephen Vasciannie.)

The dilemma for Ambassador Thomas is that, whereas China was very active in its engagement in Jamaica as its base and platform for the Caribbean, in the case of the US, its engagement with Jamaica is not as active, especially on economic issues. The challenge is to get Jamaica’s interests onto the US foreign policy radar screen. In this he cannot, indeed, must not fail.

We wish him every success as our man in Washington.