The case for skilled diplomacy and diplomats

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Politicising the Foreign Service is curbing Sri Lanka's negotiation capacity with its counterparts

The administrative system, adopted and incorporated into Sri Lanka's first constitution after independence, suffered serious interference in 1972, when the Civil Service Commission was abolished and most of its functions were passed on to the cabinet of ministers. The most important of these functions were the appointments, promotions and disciplinary control of all civil servants. The taking of these by the cabinet resulted in a discontinuity with the traditions of civil service introduced by Britain, in which the position of the permanent secretary as the chief accounting officer of a ministry was key. These permanent secretaries played a key role in shaping and directing their ministries.  The direct cabinet interference into the workings of the civil service damaged its independence, and led to the politicisation of the public service. While some of the powers of the Pubic Service Commission were somewhat restored in 1978, the position of permanent secretary was not restored. At the same time, the creation of the Executive Presidential system meant that the ministers came under the President's control. The deterioration process that began with the cabinet taking over the administrative functions got further amplified with the President becoming more or less responsible for appointing, promotions and also for the discipline of the public service. The 17th Amendment to the Constitution in 2001 was an attempt to remove this interference through independent commissions that would oversee the appointments and of public servants. Five of these commissions were appointed, and they were to ensure that the civil service had the necessary independence to function well, with no direct interference from the office of the President. That too was replaced by a new amendment. Due to this politicisation, which began in 1977, our once competent foreign service lost its edge and its capability to project and protect Sri Lanka's image oversees and to build mutually beneficial, durable and trusting bilateral and multilateral relationships that would/are beneficial both politically and economically for the country.





Foreign Service
Over the years, especially the JVP has come down very heavily on all governments since 1977 for politicising the Foreign Service and linking up internal politics with foreign policy saying it was curbing Sri Lanka's negotiation capacity with its counterparts. Foreign policy is often the bridge between Sri Lanka and the world. To get the best result for a country, a country requires sound diplomacy (the art and practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of groups or states). It usually refers to international diplomacy, the conduct of international relations through the intercession of professional diplomats with regard to issues of peace making, trade, war, economics, culture, environment and human rights.  Generally International resolutions and bilateral and multilateral deals are negotiated by highly skilled diplomats prior to their endorsement by political leaders. In an informal or social sense, diplomacy is the employment of tact to gain strategic advantage or to find mutually acceptable solutions to a common challenge. Therefore, in pursuit of this strategic advantage our foreign envoys need to build and maintain a persistent foreign policy and conduct proactive diplomacy guided by principles, which are, sustainable, and have continuity. First, we should strive to build and maintain strong bilateral and multilateral relationships that will ensure Sri Lanka's role as a full-fledged and reliable partner in a new Asian resurgence. We should therefore establish stable and solid course of foreign policy, able to adjust to the rapidly changing environment. At the same time we should avoid sudden and surprising changes that might lead to new challenges for the continuity of our relations with certain countries. Secondly, sustainability of steady and coherent foreign policy initiatives will depend on our ability to strengthen institutional foundations of the foreign policy so that we can deliver on the promises we make at international forums. This will allow our allies and friends to engage in mutually beneficial, durable and trusting bilateral and multilateral relationships. Third, our foreign policy should focus on continuity of national interests, which is based on consistent consensual priorities to be promoted internationally. If these principles govern our diplomacy, it will enable us to become a credible and trusted partner, while remaining devoted to our national interests and also promote our economic ties at the same time





In going forward we need foreign service professionals who know how to navigate through a new world of technological change and globalisation to man our missions, because there is now global competition for growth





Skilled diplomacy and diplomats
If we are to promote mutually beneficial economic and political ties the officials appointed to promote Sri Lankan interest abroad should be people trained in skilled diplomacy, have the competence to promote trade, and also people who have the ability to leverage on technology and social networks. It is generally accepted that top quality non-career diplomats can bring in new thinking and fill short-term skills gaps in the Foreign Service that are urgently needed and cannot be grown overnight to meet the new realities in the new global order. Therefore, going forward we need foreign service professionals who know how to navigate through this new world of technological change and globalisation to man our missions, because there is now global competition for growth, and every country on the planet is looking to find ways to attract growth within their borders. Now that we have the foundation to move to the next level of growth we urgently needs to build and work on our long-standing international bilateral and multilateral connections as never before. In the final analysis, Sri Lanka's dependence on foreign assistance and support would continue and that would depend to some extent how the government continues to manage the political reconciliation in the country and balance the global power plays in the West and East. Therefore, in a complex network future, skilled diplomacy is required to build trust and create sustainable relationships for Sri Lanka and also to ensure issues are addressed in the best interest of Sri Lanka.