The Foreign Service Journal, February 2011

24 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 1 and Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman to enhance our support for food security, our advocacy for agricultural biotechnology and our active support for the United Na- tions food agencies. The Obama administration’s wel- come emphasis on these goals, including the Feed the Future initiative, constitutes a strong platform on which the United States can make food security a central goal of our economic diplomacy. Development can and should be a bipartisan element of economic diplomacy. I was privileged to help design the Millennium Challenge Corporation launched by the George W. Bush administration. The MCC provides sus- tained development assistance for those countries that are doing the most to help themselves. The State Department must continue to play a strong leadership role with the World Bank and regional devel- opment banks. During the Clinton administration the United States made a valiant, but ultimately unsuccess- ful, effort to establish a Middle East Development Bank that could both promote development and support peace. I still believe this idea is sound, so I hope the Obama administration will consider relaunching this ef- fort. In strategically important countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, the United States will need to pursue its interests with a larger share of development and diplomacy, and a smaller share of military expendi- ture, than in the past. State Department officials such as Charlie Ries, Pat Haslach and Tony Wayne have already shown that FSOs have an indispensable role to play in promoting economic development in such countries. Ex- peditionary diplomacy will be a continuing part of the role of the State Department, and expeditionary eco- nomic diplomacy will be a central focus of that role. Whether or not it occurs in a war zone, development work inevitably involves a great deal of coordination with other agencies, other donors and the private sector. The involvement of other players only enhances the impor- tance of the on-the-ground experience and practical skills of FSOs and the use of economic diplomacy. The Interagency Process The formulation of international economic policy will increasingly be done through interagency processes es- tablished within the framework of the National Security Council, the National Economic Council and other White House bodies. Yet in my experience, no other agency matches the State Department in looking at in- ternational economic policy issues through a broad na- tional interest lens that closely corresponds to the perspective of the president. Throughout my diplomatic career, I found my closest bureaucratic allies at the NSC and the National Eco- nomic Council. I think it will continue to be very im- portant for the State Department and its economic diplomats to embrace the presidential perspective. This is the best way to serve the country and to expand the de- partment’s influence. Training and Recruitment Having been a beneficiary of State’s University Eco- nomic Training program, I take a great interest in strengthening economic and commercial training. The department can play its necessary role in economic diplo- macy only if officers have the technical skills to interact on an equal footing with experts from other economic departments such as Treasury on technical issues. State needs to fund such programs, and diplomats need to in- vest the time and effort to take advantage of them. Commercial and Business Advocacy As under secretary of State for economic affairs, I had the opportunity to meet with every class of American am- bassadors going out to post. I told them that I looked for- ward to the day when I needed to respond to complaints that an ambassador or an embassy had been too zealous in advocating on behalf of U.S. business interests! Commercial and business advocacy is a critically im- portant role for the State Department. Growing exports are crucial to the success of the U.S. economy, and the ex- pertise of U.S. diplomats can be the crucial difference in the success or failure of a project. Through the generos- ity of private donors, the State Department is able to pro- vide recognition to officers at all levels who demonstrate dedication and success in business advocacy. A Rewarding Career Economic diplomacy was a great adventure through- out my Foreign Service career, and I believe it will remain a stimulating and richly rewarding field for many years to come. So let me extend to the next gen- eration of economic diplomats my best wishes for ca- reers that will be as exciting and as rewarding as mine has been. F O C U S