The Roles of Foreign Minister in the Next Government
Dr Kriengsak
Chareonwongsak
Senior Fellow,
Harvard University’s Center for Business and Government
If one were to ask the question as to which Minister
would face the toughest job in the next government in rebuilding foreign
confidence towards Thailand, which is one of the most pressing problems,
especially the lack of confidence in Thailand’s economic outlook and direction
that has caused some investors to shy away from investing here and others to relocate
their investment overseas, what would the answer be?
Several people might think the answer would be one of
the economic ministers. But I am inclined to view that the Foreign Minister
would have an equally tough job. This is because the lack of confidence problem
is mainly about the psychological perception by foreign countries towards
Thailand—something that the Foreign Ministry should understand better than
other Ministries.
Besides, the lack of confidence is not only limited to
the economic dimension. It is undeniable that economic woes constitute the
hottest issues at the moment, particularly the erroneous perception about the
sufficiency economy policy, the problem of nominee shareholding, and the 30 per
cent foreign reserve requirement. But the lack of confidence is also caused by
other problems; namely compulsory licensing, violence in the three southern
provinces, and political conflicts, among others.
One question that follows is: what kind of roles
should the new Foreign Minister take on?
With a closer look, one would find that the lack of
foreign confidence is caused by serious doubts about the government’s policy
and capability to manage problems, be it policy direction or the inconsistent
policy approach. Foreigners also think the government does not understand the
cause of the problems, or is slow to respond to those problems. These
perceptions cause serious doubts about the government’s ability to manage.
Under a more positive light, the government’s policy
and measures to solve problems may be well-intended and based on good
principles. But the failure to clearly convey or communicate those policy
measures has inadvertently sent the unfriendly signals to foreign investors. It
so happens, too, that different government agencies give out different or
conflicting information that causes confusion and the gap of understanding
between the government and foreign investors.
The job of foreign public relations undertaken by the
government will therefore need to be carried out in a more integrated manner,
with the Foreign Ministry doing the government’s PR work with foreigners
through participation by and consultation with other Ministries in order to
achieve a more pro-active or aggressive PR objective.
The Foreign Ministry should therefore work more
closely in parallel with other Ministries in planning policy communication.
Such a practice will enable foreigners to better understand government policy,
allow the government to explain the rationales behind those policies before
they are officially announced, and allow for better preparation for solving any
problems of miscommunication that may arise.
In Cabinet meetings, the Foreign Minister should play
a role in reflecting foreign perception about issues with potential impact on
the confidence of foreign countries. He or she should work more closely with
economic ministers to fine-tune economic policy decisions and communication,
while taking into account the potential impacts on foreign perception.
As such, the Foreign Minister should have an excellent
understanding about the works of economic ministries. This will help ensure
that economic policy formulation takes into account foreign perception, as well
as improving communications to make sure that foreign countries understand and
have confidence in Thailand’s direction and outlook.
I am of the view that the new Foreign Minister should
have a role in ensuring that government policy direction is characterized by
transparency and good governance, fairness to both Thais and foreigners, and
stability, so that foreign investors can predict the policy direction and have
confidence in the consistency of policy. It is also important that policy
outlook does not lean towards any anti-foreign investment direction.
Apart from that, the Foreign Minister should use more
public relations strategies overseas, for examples, by coordinating with and
making foreign government agencies display confidence towards Thailand,
identifying and rallying support from countries that support Thailand’s policy
approach to certain issues, seeking recognition from international
organizations for the policy approach, or finding ways to make foreign
investors in Thailand display more confidence towards the Thai economy.
Apart from a good knowledge in
diplomacy, another favorable trait of the new Foreign Minister is that he or
she should be a good communicator and public relations expert with
multi-disciplinary knowledge, particularly about the economy. Most importantly,
he or she should have extensive connections and networks overseas, have good
relations with fellow diplomats, as well as with journalists and the foreign
investors in Thailand.
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