Importance of foreign policy

Foreign policy has received much media attention of late. Hardly a week passes without a debate on the country’s external relations. This is a good development. However, there are some irritants too. Still there are critics who view our external relations through the prism of the Cold War. Many of them still cling on to the conservative western-centric policies that have long become anachronistic by world developments.

The number of contributors too has increased. It is not only the academia or the media that are taking part in the debate. Many politicians are also making public pronouncements concerning the country’s relations with other countries. Sadly, not all of them are diplomatic enough.

A country’s external relations are too delicate to be made platform topics at campaign meetings as they have to be handled delicately. It is normally the prerogative of the President, the Prime Minister or the External Affairs Minister to make such pronouncements. Now even Provincial Councillors are challenging our external friends and adversaries both.

This makes it necessary for the State to educate the public on its foreign policy so that they would understand the subtle differences in terminology used by the diplomats and officials.

Foreign policy is an extension of the domestic policy beyond our shores. Hence they should be in harmony. Both should be based on the national interest. Hence it is necessary to understand the external environment or the geo-political realities of the day.

Foreign policy does not operate in a vacuum. It operates in a concrete external environment. In the formulating the foreign policy, the State takes into consideration both the domestic and external climate.

Sri Lanka has finished one strategic phase of its development. The end of the fratricidal war with the Tigers has placed economic development at the centre of the stage. The foreign policy should serve this objective.

The world has also changed in the meantime. The bi-polar world had given way to the unipolar world with the United States as the sole super-power. Now it is also changing. While the United States has entered a phase of weakening, the centre of power is shifting to Asia. By the middle of the 21st Century, China is to become the most formidable power in the world. Already it is becoming a power house of production.

The new century is definitely a Century of Asia. Hence our external relations need to take a ‘look east’ orientation.

The status quo in the world is favourable to the big powers. Hence, there is a big struggle for equity in international relations and in trade in particular. In this struggle Sri Lanka’s interests coincide with that of the developing world, members of the Non-Aligned Movement. While the G-8 has been found to be ineffective in determining world development G-20 which includes several front ranking developing countries are called upon to play a bigger role in world affairs.

Besides the West Brazil, India, China and South Africa have emerged as global players. Sri Lanka has to take these developments into account. There are also regional up and coming players such as Iran, Turkey and Malaysia. In this context the old western-centric policies have become anachronistic.

Looking at our external relations from this new angle it is seen that it has consciously noted the new developments in geo-politics.

Unfortunately certain parties including the JVP take only a one-dimensional view of our external relations. It is very apparent in considering its attitude to India. The old anti-India policy of the 1971 insurrection days seem to have re-surfaced.

There are also others that want to place India and China in an adversarial role. However formidable they are, both countries have understood the commonalities they share amidst differences. That is why they concur on most of the problems facing the world today, including the reform of the multilateral organizations including the United Nations.

The Sri Lankan policy of being friends of both suits our national interest. It is also in our national interest to develop a special relation with our great neighbour India as we are bound by century old multifaceted and civilizational ties. That is why anti-India policy or xenophobia has no place in our external relations.

Today, foreign policy is not the sole prerogative of career diplomats. There is a much larger arm of the external relations, viz., public diplomacy. No country could develop its external relations without developing public diplomacy. It is hoped that the new External Affairs Minister would pursue a vigorous public diplomacy, especially in relation to the security threat posed by attempts to resurrect the international wing of the deceased Tigers.