Diplomacy has long been central to Ethiopia’s position at continental and global levels. It is through relentless diplomatic efforts that the country has able to host many international, continental and regional blocs and organizations. For this reason, the country should be able to maintain its position by refining diplomatic missions and timely redefining foreign policy.
Foreign policy amounts to ensuring the economic and security interests of a country provided the policy shifts could properly capture current and future global and regional dynamism. However, the prior Foreign Affairs and National Security Policy and Strategy (FANSP) had not considered that the international geopolitics has seen dramatic shifts over the decade which it fails to embrace.
Let alone other international developments, security and economic ties with the newest country in our region, South Sudan, ought to properly be explained in the FANSP. And the normalcy reached with Eritrea is another impetus to revisit the policy. Unlike the existing policy statement, the neighboring countries are very important in directly impacting on the development of the nation.
Though the neighbors are short of capital and finance and cannot be considered sources of investment and development finance when seen from the economic development angle, they could be made very essential market potential. As there is no nation that does not benefit another nation in diplomacy, the weak and strong nations should be considered. And the FANSP has to strictly dig out the opportunities those exist in the problems and well being of other nations. Even more importantly, the current policy takes regional security complex in the Horn and Eastern Africa into account leaving aside other important elements.
The regional security complex itself has grown to Middle East with the advent of few countries to the Red Sea under the name of protecting security interests. Likewise, developed countries economic, political and social interests need to be considered.
The relation to be made with the top twenty developed and developing countries must be well thought-out. Equally, the cyber space security in addition to the traditional physical boundary is also a very important aspect that should be inserted into the FANSP. It should involve that security is a matter of ensuring national survival.
The alpha and omega of security is the ensuring of national survival. The emerging issues such as cyber frontiers and social media decide whether or not a country could sustainably ensure its national security and ultimately its national survival. Therefore, it is a must to probe into these matters and formulate the country’s foreign relations. Similarly, every diplomatic benefits of the nation have to be assessed in the post modernism view.
The international impact of the climate, technology and developments are ought to be seen far sighted. In the same way, food security, health and migration are no less critical unfolding that demand regional cooperation which the foreign policy has to include. Moreover, the assignments of the diplomats have not been considering the ongoing global and regional dynamisms occurring in the post modernism arena. Most of the assignments of the diplomats were based on party commitments and the job has been considered as a a vacant position for retirees.
As a result, most of the ambassadors have been enjoying their positions believing that there is little expected from them as a retired personnel. Diplomacy is a strong weapon to secure national interests at the global frontiers, Ambassadors and diplomats should be one who can serve their country and do not compromise national interests over courses of government or political changes.
Therefore, the country should move into merit-based diplomacy in which right and qualified people are appointed to serve the very interest of the nation. The country needs to form a diplomatic mission comprised of scholars, influential individuals and the likes. The nation’s unprecedented journey in all spheres of life should be compounded with the new development in the current and future regional and global general dynamism.
Herald January 18/2019
