The contribution of the IFS officers to India's place in the world - at the bilateral and multilateral level - is immense, building national pride and national confidence, say Tarun Das

In any area of work, there are the efficient and inefficient, the far-sighted and the short-sighted, the enlightened and the not-so-enlightened, the secure and the insecure, the confident and the fearful.

Resistance to change, negativity, delaying tactics, etc., often come from the insecure and the fearful but, in one's experience, the Indian Foreign Service has a rich complement of competent, competitive and caring officers.

Contrary to some perceptions, this small band of people — small compared to many other services — carries out an amazing array tasks on behalf of the country — and do so very well.

Looking dispassionately at the ministry of external affairs, and working with the MEA officials and embassies, there is respect and appreciation for the group of people who man the citadels of India 's foreign policy.

Their functioning area often forces them to stick their necks out because responses and statements just cannot be delayed. They are compelled to take risks, often without a brief from the powers that be.

Everything they say tends to be of media interest and the reporting is often incomplete and piecemeal. And, there are many ready to pick holes and take pot-shots at them.

One example of a recent achievement is the bridge to Latin America . Neglected in the past, India 's relationship with Latin America has been renewed and rebuilt. Ministerial and official exchanges, often with business along, have built a new agenda. Commonalities have been identified. Actions for shared co-operation framed. Two "sub-examples” are the bilateral ties now forged with Brazil and the Mercosur-India trade agreement.

Clearly, the credit goes to the minister of external affairs and his team for breaking the distance barrier with this continent.

The investment of time and resources is already seeing steady dividends in terms of trade, investment, technology co-operation and working together on critical issues at the WTO.

Another example relates to Africa . Not only the traditional ties with East Africa but, more important, the new ground broken with West Africa . The "Team 9” link with India evolved through painstaking effort to forge an economic and potential relationship with an almost forgotten region — West Africa . At the bilateral level, there is a new warmth with South Africa which just did not exist earlier.

A unique fallout of the India-Latin America-Africa emerging relationship is the IBSA — India , Brazil , South Africa — grouping. Started at the external affairs ministers' level, it went up to a summit level meeting in New York and has then continued and diversified into a multiple-agenda based grouping. Very recently, the three foreign ministers met in New Delhi and adopted an ambitious work plan. IBSA has become a reality, and the credit goes to the Indian Foreign Service.

Another unglamorous but important success story is BIMSTEC — Bangladesh , India , Myanmar , Singapore and Thailand , grouped together. From a zero situation, largely unnoticed, BIMSTEC has become a reality. Agreements have been concluded, shared agendas framed. And, a summit is ahead. Again, the quiet legwork was done by MEA, painstakingly building trust and co-operation amongst key countries in the region, wading through difficult and complex terrain of negotiation and conciliation.

Then we have South Asia where it's not just relations with Pakistan . There are huge sensitivities with all our South Asian neighbours and a sustained effort has been made to reach out to Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Maldives and Sri Lanka, and, of course, Pakistan, to remove discord and discomfort and replace it with understanding and consideration. India is like a jumbo jet sitting in the South Asia airfield with small planes parked around it. A special effort has to be made to give comfort and this has happened, slowly and steadily. Over the last 18 months, regions and countries beyond the G-8 have been remembered and an outreach programme to build new understanding has been initiated and pushed forward.

There is another facet to this. The economic content. Or, economic diplomacy as many call it. Foreign policy today is based very much on economic relationship building. The economic angle brings substance and content. The focus on improvement of trade, removal of economic barriers, promotion of investment, etc., has made a huge difference to sentiment and, as a result, India is viewed differently across the world. India is recognised and respected for its economy and its desire to build economic partnerships. Yes, there are other issues of great importance, e.g., security, but the economic part of diplomacy has become the new flag-bearer. While there is no doubt that leadership and encouragement comes from the government of the day, the role of the officers who man the MEA and lead the missions around the world cannot be underestimated. They do 95% of the work of India 's international and foreign policy. The topping up of 5% must necessarily come from the national political leadership. But, without the 95%, the 5% could not be sustained.

So, the Indian Foreign Service is delivering for India . The batting wicket is not favourable, in fact, often sticky. Ideally, the team could do even better given better training and exposure to current and future economic trends, the use of technology on a variety of issues such as security and a grounding in negotiating skills which have become so critical. Exchange and deputation arrangements with industry would also be useful.

Most important of all, empowerment, trust, space and opportunity to do their job, recognising and rewarding merit is critical. There are no ordinary or extraordinary people. Ordinary people can do extraordinary things given trust and motivation. The men and women in the IFS are no different from any other people. And, their contribution to India 's place in the world — at the bilateral and multilateral level — is immense, building national pride and national confidence. We need to reinforce this team because it plays in the "World Cup” and, on the track record of the last few years, we have a team which matches the best any nation has to offer.

(Author is director-general, CII)