Economic diplomacy and Bangladesh

Modern diplomacy refers to "the application of intelligence and tact to the conduct of official relations between the governments of independent states." Diplomacy is the exclusive domain of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). However, alternative actors in the field of diplomacy have emerged within and outside the state and often act independent of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Economic diplomacy is another kind of it, which uses the full spectrum of economic tools of the state to achieve its national interest. Economic diplomacy includes all the economic activities, but not limited to only export, import, investment, lending, aid, free trade agreements etc. So the foreign policy of Bangladesh may focus on development and maintenance of friendly economic and trade relations with other countries and fostering cooperation in the field of trade, commerce and manpower through different regional, sub-regional, political and economic groups. A country like Bangladesh should pursue economic diplomacy more vigorously and we need professionals from trade and business backgrounds and a business-friendly environment to meet that end.
Usually LDCs like Bangladesh employ the same set of negotiators on every platform. As a result, they become masters of none. The country needs to produce different sets of negotiators, having specialisation in different fields including bilateral trade, regional trade and multilateral trade, conversant with different World Trade Organisation agreements and other such issues.
Economic diplomacy can be used to mobilise investment, promote tourism and focus better on the national image building. We need to develop tourist spots and the tourism infrastructure to attract foreign tourists. For projecting a positive national image abroad, the country's political leaders have to be responsible about what they say regarding their own country. They should know that the world media report what they say. Their unguarded statements can damage the image of the country. To build a good image, Bangladesh may also need promotional activities in the world media. The missions abroad have to assess the demand for Bangladeshi products in the host markets and facilitate government-to-government interactions to promote exports to those countries.
Ensuring proper education and technical training of people on latest technical know-how is also important for proper economic growth of the country. Many developed countries are providing scholarships for higher education, short training and diploma courses to the LDC citizens. A diplomatic mission can help more participants from Bangladesh seize these opportunities. Thus they can play a vital role in technology transfer.
The economic diplomacy of a developing country like Bangladesh is shifting from foreign aid to international trade, investment and credit supply. The foreign aid scenario of Bangladesh has changed. Grants are being significantly replaced by loans. Dependence on foreign aid has also declined, though it still meets a considerable part of fiscal deficit and the Annual Development Programme (ADP) financing. Bangladesh also requires foreign aid to meet its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). So the importance of foreign aid is immense. Foreign aid and economic diplomacy of Bangladesh should focus on (i) enhancing the flow of aid available on favourable terms and conditions, (ii) negotiations at the multilateral level to gain as much as possible, and (iii) advocating aid as a source of investment. Accelerating South-South cooperation to gain technical assistance and complementing foreign aid from Bangladesh's development partners are also important while climate diplomacy should be made part of the economic diplomacy of Bangladesh.
Economic diplomacy of Bangladesh: Basically, economic diplomacy is a continuous course of action. Its outcome may not be evident within a short time, rather it could take a decade or even longer. Hence, economic diplomacy may not at times be successful with the global economic scenario changing very fast and sometimes without any prior notice. Indeed, this is a dilemma. Economic diplomacy has to be pursued as part of a long-term policy approach of a developing country. It would facilitate economic interest. Bangladesh's economic diplomacy should be guided by three basics: increasing exports, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flow and managing the regular aid flow. The country should not separate economic diplomacy from political diplomacy.
Commercial diplomacy, on the other hand, involves the diplomatic missions working in favour of the home country's business and financial sectors in their pursuit of economic success and achieving the country's general objective of national development. It includes the promotion of inward and outward investment as well as trade. Important aspects of a commercial diplomats' work are the information given about export and investment opportunities and their role in hosting trade missions from home. In some cases, commercial diplomats could also promote economic ties by advising and providing support to both domestic and foreign companies on investment decisions.
Bangladesh branding: To get a strategic platform for exploiting the multilateral regime, the country has to prioritise Bangladesh branding. For attracting foreign investment, the country needs to project a positive image abroad. Bangladesh branding is essential, because without a brand image it would not be easy to get foreign investment. The government should promote the image of the country abroad, which should be the primary part of economic diplomacy. The image of a country is very important in the fields of trade, global politics and international relations.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the embassies and diplomats of Bangladesh are responsible for projection of a 'correct' image of the country abroad. But their capacity to project a positive image or change the undue negative perception may be limited. The diplomats abroad have to be proactive, rather than reactive. The foreign ministry has to give importance to promotion of trade and development by organising trade fairs, participating in foreign exhibitions, organising investors' conferences and holding business-to-business dialogues etc. The missions abroad have to be facilitators of joint business councils, joint chambers, joint trade facilitator taskforces etc.
Bangladesh today is the 48th largest economy in the world with a GDP size of US$ 225 billion based on the purchasing power parity. Bangladesh has already started moving from low-income status to an upper middle-income economy, and we want to continue advancing to become a middle-income nation by 2021. And this commitment of the people will be our key strength, when we think of branding Bangladesh. Recognising the importance of our international image and reputation, we need to mobilise all our resources to develop and implement a positive national brand. While a well-designed branding campaign can prove   highly favourable for Bangladesh, an effective campaign requires a high amount of cooperation among a wide range of government and private actors. There is a great opportunity for cooperative interaction among the government agencies, corporations, non-governmental organisations, development partners and other actors, when it comes to brightening the national image. However, actors in diversified areas can also prove counterproductive. So we have to underscore the common interests of all sectors involved so that multiple branding campaigns can work. As Bangladesh is the 2nd largest garment manufacturer of the world after China, we can underscore our garment sector's success story and internationally promote the 'MADE IN BANGLADESH' brand by rightly using the tagline 'WE CLOTH THE WORLD', so that the string 'MADE IN BANGLADESH' will itself be a master brand alongside the ready-made garment (RMG) sector. It has been well-proposed that in every 'made in Bangladesh' product there may be a tag like: 'Made by the happy people from Bangladesh' which will create brand equity for the Bangladesh country brand. With regards to that, we should make adequate efforts to keep the workers really happy by ensuring their basic rights so that our buyers will feel by their hearts that their buying means our happiness and eventually buyers will stay attached with us psychologically. This may also be a good response to the recent tragedy in the garment sector.
Bangladesh's position in global economic diplomacy: If we look at the global economic diplomacy, we find that most of the jobs of the World Bank, UN, WTO, WHO and such other international organisations are secured by Indian people. A few Bangladeshi people are engaged in less important positions in the WB and in other UN organisations. The people, who are entrusted with the economic diplomacy in different missions of Bangladesh abroad, are mostly posted in political consideration. They neither have training nor have the required qualification and skills. Representatives of the ministries like finance, commerce, expatriates' welfare and overseas employment, religious affairs working in different missions abroad can take those responsibilities. But there are no set rules or any system of exams other than the benchmark ACRs (annual confidential reports), based on which they are selected. Most of the officers have no training nor any experience in these fields. When it comes to economic diplomacy, exploration of every economic opportunity needs skill and professionalism. One must know the disadvantages of their own country and exploit the economic facilities in the host countries. Only touring the whole world should not be the main purpose.
The writer is Chief Executive                                  Officer at Zila Parishad, Pabna.                         masudlaxmi@gmail.com