Tripping up the president

Again, how is it that the president was not properly briefed about the requirements of the ceremonial reception where she inadvertently almost walked past the tricolour? Our ambassador8217;s office and the foreign office surely need to bear the responsibility for the various situations noted by the media.

My intention is to highlight some issues faced by the delegation in order to try and improve the productivity of future delegations on which we spend millions.

Having been on the president8217;s entourage on her visit to Brazil, Mexico and Chile, my experience was one of watching the president8217;s influence and impact grow from strength to strength. This visit had a number of firsts. The president8217;s first trip abroad as head of state, the first time that any president has taken a business delegation on a state visit. Another first was the NGO representation within the business delegation.

We were able to initiate an in-principle agreement to extend the scope of Grassroots Trading Network for Women a SEWA-promoted NGO to Mexico. In Brazil, we arrived at an agreement to share best practices with SESI, experts in corporate social responsibility, with established audits of corporates in CSR. A lot was achieved which has not been reported.

Even after so many years, the basics of a presidential visit are not well rehearsed. What was not reported, for instance, was that in the House of Deputies, our Brazilian Ambassador ran up to the translator on the dais with the president8217;s speech as the translator was not able to translate fast enough without it. The president then had to restart her speech! Surely a copy of the speech should have been available with the translator?

In Brazil, seven of the eight members of the business delegation were invited to the presidential banquet 8212; one got left out. This could happen due to a lack of space etc. However, there was not a word from the embassy or the ambassador on who was responsible. Basic courtesy should have prompted a note if not a call to the person left out.

The bureaucrats had other complaints 8212; the head of the business delegation talked for longer than the president. But a relevant point made by them was that the basics of diplomacy dictate that you do not ask the president to commit India8217;s official stance on whether she agreed to Mexico being included in the BRIC countries during a speech.

A detailed note needs to be given to all delegates outlining the basic do8217;s and don8217;ts 8212; for instance, no one leaves a presidential banquet before the heads of state.

A businessman said that in Latin America even heads of state grant an appointment at short notice if required for business. The same person went on to say that unfortunately our ambassadors weren8217;t available to businessmen without prior appointment. Another gentleman made the point about how well the Chinese were organised in tracking international businessmen arriving in Latin America, and how their embassy would try to direct business to Chinese contractors in that country.

Our embassies unfortunately do not function in this way. Part of this problem could be their exposure and training, and now, coping with the expectations of the new aggressive Indian businessmen.

A lot was achieved, on a country to country basis, and in terms of building support for our various requirements 8212; the UN Security Council seat, WTO negotiations etc. A lot more could have been achieved for the business delegation. The problem is that no one realises the interdependencies.

If our missions do not have the expertise to facilitate business, would it be better for them to work through organisations that could help them in their own interest 8212; multinational banks which have the relationships with industry in both countries?

Would bureaucrats be amenable to working with the corporate sector? Could they bring themselves to discuss or critique the trip jointly with the entire delegation? A pleasant change was the business delegation being asked by the secretary to the president at her instance, two weeks after returning, to review progress. Had the entire delegation including the press met occasionally during the trip, to review progress, take suggestions on board and address problems, the outcome would have been much better. There was no camaraderie, everyone was pulling along in their own direction.

Surprisingly, a number of MoUs were signed. I say surprisingly, because any business journalist would appreciate that to reach an MoU, discussions and due diligence are required prior to signing. The fact that some were actually signed shows the credibility the president provides to the delegation.

If the attending business delegation were identified soon after the president8217;s state visits were finalised, I am confident that many more MoUs would be signed, given the tremendous credibility of being part of the president8217;s delegation, apart from enabling the business delegation to identify and interact with potential partners in advance.

The writer is CEO, Grassroots Trading Network for Women, Mumbai rkkidwaigrassnet.org