DIPLOMATS working at different missions, High Commissions, Embassies and Consulates in 58 countries met in the first-ever conference in Dhaka at a time when most of the missions failed to attain their annual targets of trade expansion and improved service delivery to nationals due to over exhausting protocol schedule. A vernacular daily reported that Bangladesh missions in Singapore, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Istanbul, and Kuala Lumpur remain busy in providing protocol to the Ministers and government high-ups as they make stopover at such places on the way to other destinations and seek full protocol. Regular mission activities in Riyadh, Kuala Lumpur, New Delhi, and Bangkok become unattended due to the frequent visit of VIPs for taking medical treatment, performing Hajj or merely excursion.
The foreign missions have defined goals and objectives for them in labor destined countries. They are obliged to serve the nationals, protect national interests, and expand trade, and cultural ties. But most of the missions have been turned into a center of safe job harbor without serving nationals and in some cases, middlemen put bar in service delivery. In some cases, the relatives of the VIPs seek same facilities to the mission officials and the government high-ups when going for unofficial visit despite no protocol required but they get that.
Another daily reported that 31 missions have failed to achieve their respective export targets in the first quarter (July-September) period of the current fiscal year (FY-18). The key Bangladesh missions like the ones in Canberra, Ottawa, Tehran, London, Madrid, Washington, New York, Brasilia, Athens, Mexico City, The Hague, have achieved their July-September export targets while some other important missions — Berlin, Yangon, Singapore, New Delhi, Kuala Lumpur, Paris, Moscow, Manila, Jakarta, Lisbon, Vienna, Thimphu, Rabat, Hanoi, Katmandu, Islamabad, Riyadh, Colombo, Beijing, Dubai, Geneva, — have failed to reach their three-month export target. The overall export earnings for the July-September month period of FY-18 amounted to $8,662.73 million against the strategic target of $8,916 million, showing a slight fall of 2.84 percent over the strategic target.
Experts said the malpractice of the diplomatic norms and misuse of protocols at several missions definitely put negative impact on other activities. The accusation against Bangladesh missions that nationals hardly get service facilities from the mission office and missions’ staff hardly provide a solution to their problems. State Minister for Foreign Affairs once provides his personal number asking Bangladesh nationals to inform him about the malpractice of embassies and missions. Our missions are not people-centric and people need focused. So the nationals in hosting countries get little access to the mission office. We ask the government to convey the message that the diplomats are obliged to serve the nationals abroad. They must solve their problems first without getting too much busy in attending VIP protocols.
