|
Dr Anna Mallia's article entitled ‘Ambassadors are a waste’ (MaltaToday 5 September) was clearly meant to be provocative, and there is nothing wrong with that, but her conclusion that ambassadors are a waste, is as baseless as claiming that lawyers are a waste because some, in the view of others, do not deliver.
Let me start by pointing out that as far back as 1981 Sir Geoffrey Jackson, a renowned British diplomat, wrote a book entitled ‘Concord Diplomacy,’ subtitled ‘The Ambassador's Role in the World Today.’ Dr Mallia has discovered nothing new in pointing out that communications have facilitated direct contact between heads of government to the extent that the adjectives ‘extraordinary’ and ‘plenipotentiary’ have, in practice, become meaningless.
In my view, based on experience, as well as that of Mr Jackson, this does not apply to the post of a senior representative of a government in another State.
Just as an example, I would point out that it was I who met Major Jalloud at midnight, on instructions from Mintoff, when an Israeli gunboat entered Malta without a permit, allegedly to shelter from rough weather. I was also the person who met the Head of a Libyan bank, again on Mintoff's instructions, on Christmas Day during the crisis of the National Bank.
I used the phrase ‘senior representative on purpose. I was the head of Malta’s embassy in Tripoli for a total of 4 years, and in Geneva for a total of 13 years, during which time I was shouldering the responsibilities of an ambassador, and I was treated as an ambassador by all my foreign colleagues. But the government of Malta did not appoint me to the post of ambassador formally; nor was I paid or treated as such.
However, when Prime Minister Mintoff made a statement in Parliament in 1973, and praised my work in Helsinki, he referred to me as ‘ambassador.’ That statement was preceded by a telephone call to warn me that the official pronouncement did not mean that I was being promoted to the rank of ambassador.
Is Dr Mallia proposing a return to this old system of cheap labour?
A pertinent question is why Mintoff chose to call me an ambassador when I was not. The answer is simple. Our diplomatic and political relations with other states have to follow internationally-set protocols, and if we deviate from them there may be consequences.
I remember when, during a meeting at Castille Mintoff said he wanted to reform the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and was going to start by abolishing the protocol section. My superiors, who had become traumatised by Mintoff's outbursts, kept silent, but I felt it important to point out that when he went abroad, Mintoff expected to be treated correctly as a head of government. Others expected the same from us, and this was what protocol was about. Mintoff kept the protocol section in place.
Dr Mallia points to what other States do and do not do, but she never points out the truly relevant fact that no State has come to her conclusion that ambassadors are a waste and should be eliminated.
Finally, I would like to touch on the point that all armchair critics pontificate about, and that is the role of embassies in promoting foreign trade and investment in Malta, as if this is the only valid yardstick for opening embassies. The idea that embassies should have on their staff persons trained in economic matters is not new. I myself underwent the course organised by the Board of Trade in London for commercial officers in British embassies.
When Dr Vincent Tabone became Minister of Foreign Affairs we subsequently placed representatives of the Malta Development Corporation in some of our embassies. In other cases we established close links with MDC officers outside capitals. In all cases we cooperated closely with METCO in its missions in foreign countries.
I cannot claim that we had a phenomenal success, and the reasons are many and varied. But to claim that any shortcomings were the result of ambassadors who spend the last years of their career quietly and living lavishly is simply ridiculous, and does no credit to the author of the article.
What is important is that our embassies be efficient, that our ambassadors establish close contacts with economic bodies abroad and in Malta, and that they render help when required. It is these bodies that know what is practical, and it is they who will have to face the risks of foreign trade and investment. The days of the old socialist doctrine of government imposition is long past.
Evarist V. Saliba
Retired ambassador
Ta' l-Ibrag
|
