NEW DELHI: The government is considering a proposal to induct personnel from the corporate sector in the commercial wing of India’s diplomatic missions abroad.
The proposal aims at toning up the functioning of India’s commercial representatives so as to reflect the recent economic policy reforms initiated by the government. These policy reforms towards integrating the Indian economy with the global. economy call for a reorientation of economic diplomacy in as much as the commercial representatives play catalytic role in promoting the flow of trade, investment and technology, it is claimed, At present, commercial wings of Indian missions are headed by commercial representatives who are carrier diplomats mostly drawn from the Indian Foreign Service (IFS). The proposal in effect seeks to replace these government servants by the induction of industry representatives who will then be part of Indian missions and enjoy the status of diplomats, I he tenure of such postings is proposed to be for three years.
ADEQUATE SAFEGUARDS: Officials, however, concede that the proposal could have a far reaching ramifications and, therefore, the government has to provide for adequate safeguards on secrecy and security which are crucial to the functioning of diplomatic missions, Also, it has to be ensured that corporate personnel posted in the missions do not misuse their position because of any vested or sectorial interests, To act as the true representative of the country, it is pertinent that only those personnel are posted who are not only skilled and knowledgeable, but have a proven track record of honesty and integrity.
To attract persons with the necessary qualifications, it has been proposed that these personnel be paid remunerations at par with the employees of similar rank in the various UN bodies, TALKS ON PROPOSAL: The minister for external affairs, Madhavsinh Solanki, and the minister of state for commerce, P .Chidambaram, have recently held discussions on the proposal and the two ministries are currently giving it a concrete shape to enable the government take a decision. There is, however, no model to fall back upon. Even the industrially advanced countries have relied only on government officials to represent their commercial interests through their foreign missions. Some countries like Canada and Australia are, however, known to have the system of commercial representation abroad, manned by industry personnel. But such commercial representations are not deemed to be a part of their missions, though the two work in tandem to promote commercial interests.
Canada and Australia are being requested to provide details of their commercial representation systems for getting some clue as to how the induction of corporate personnel into Indian missions might actually work.
Apex trade and industry organizations in the country, which have been demanding improvement in the working of the commercial wings of Indian missions for long and have queried particularly high pitch following the economic policy reforms, are also being consulted in shaping up the proposal. These consultations are being pursued seriously as, under the proposal, the industry would be required to pay for the commercial representatives, besides making available the required a number of skilled personnel.
Article extracted from this publication >> December 20, 1991
