Diplomacy is conduct of relations aimed at reconciliation: Vice President Ansari

New Delhi, Mar 11 (ANI): Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari today said that Diplomacy is the conduct of relations among political entities aimed at reconciliation and accommodation of viewpoints and interests.

Delivering "Annual Lecture 2011" of the Association of Indian Diplomats on the theme "The Challenges to Indian Diplomacy in the 21st Century" here, Vice President Ansari said: "It is both a function and a determinant of international order. The task of the diplomat, to use a blunt 15th century expression, is to seek the preservation and aggrandizement of his own state."

Vice President Ansari said that our diplomacy would have to maintain our strategic autonomy of action and policy while dealing with accretion of national power and calls by other state and non-state actors for "responsibility" in exercising it.

Emphasizing that State Governments are looking for enhanced international exposure and official presence outside India, Ansari said: "Indian diplomacy would have to creatively deal with the pressures for such sub-State Diplomacy and devise means to address the concerns and facilitate achievement of the objectives of our state governments."

"While the Ministry's institutional response has been to open Branch Offices in a few State Capitals, a more robust institutional and systemic response rooted in mandatory dialogue and consultation mechanisms with sub-national territorial units might need to be crafted for the purpose," he added.

He said as we survey the practice of diplomacy worldwide, we observe that the departure from the classical definition is very definitive.

"A range of new non-state actors have emerged on the global scene to engage in diplomatic or quasi-diplomatic activities to further their objectives. These include NGOs focused on environment, human rights and labour issues, international sports bodies, professional federations, business and multinational corporations and academic institutions," he added.

He said: "Our diplomacy would have to find means of representation with, and access to, these new actors and engage with them to defend and promote our national interests.

"Traversing these uncharted waters would be tricky and would have to be carefully calibrated in view of the strong linkages of many of them with Indian civil society and NGOs, Indian business and industry, our Pravasi Bharatiya Community, and our polity and economy," he added. (ANI)