The Foreign Service Journal, May 2009

M A Y 2 0 0 9 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 23 F O C U S O N FA S & FCS N OTES FROM THE F IELD : FCS D ELIVERS FOR U.S. B USINESS hen he landed in Hyderabad in July 2008 to serve as the first-ever American consul gen- eral in the city, Cornelis “Kees” Keur faced the daunting task of building a new consulate general. Fortunately, as a minister counselor in the management cone, he had al- ready opened consulates in Shenyang and Chengdu, and had also served as consul general in Chengdu. So Keur knew what was expected in terms of logistics. In addition, upon his arrival he had a built-in staff and support system through the U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service office that had been established there in 2000, the sole U.S. government office in the city. Commercial Spe- cialist P. Radhakishore’s experience and contacts proved instrumental for the new consul general, enabling him to connect immediately with the key players in the commu- nity. “While serving as consul general in Chengdu a decade ago, I used USFCS to leverage our influence throughout that district,” says Keur. “Since arriving in Hyderabad, I have greatly enjoyed working with the agency on the var- ious trade missions and delegations that have come dur- ing the first six months of my tenure. Again, commercial successes are contributing to the credibility of our opera- tions in the eyes of the local power brokers.” Integral to the Country Team The U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service — known as “FCS” in embassies and consulates and the “Commercial Service” within the Department of Commerce—plays an integral role in the ambassador’s country team by leading and assisting efforts to enhance commercial diplomacy, U.S. export promotion and foreign investment in the United States. Chiefs of mission rely on FCS, with its di- rect contacts with the local and U.S. business communities, to protect American business interests abroad. For example, Senior Commercial Officer David Ponsar led a successful advocacy campaign in the Slovak Repub- lic by enlisting the ambassador’s support to assist Colorado- based Aspect Energy’s appeals to overturn a ruling from theMinistry of Environment that effectively shut them out of the market. As a result, the ministry reversed its initial decision, enabling the company to continue pursuing four licenses to survey for oil and gas deposits. In addition to working with embassy and consulate col- FCS WILL CONTINUE TO ASSIST A MERICAN COMPANIES GRAPPLING WITH A CHALLENGING ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT . B Y A ILEEN C ROWE N ANDI Aileen Crowe Nandi currently serves as principal com- mercial officer in Chennai, with previous Foreign Service postings in Kolkata and Mexico City. Before joining the U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service in 2002, Ms. Nandi worked for the U.S. Trade and Development Agency. She wishes to thank her colleagues, both mentioned and un- named, for their contributions to this article. W