SOURCE: ET
Diplomats like bankers must always increase deposits of goodwill so they can spend in hard times. Nowhere is the dictum truer than at the United Nations — a massive field of 193 members constantly trading favours.
Fortunes can fluctuate but small investments can yield large dividends. India’s permanent representative Syed Akbaruddin has proven it time and again – invest diplomatic capital, spend wisely and get max bang for the buck. He retires today after an exceptional stint in New York that even rivals agree was remarkable and full of “firsts.”
It’s not easy to stand out in a parade of preening permanent reps and be the envy of peers. Multilateral diplomacy is a different beast and often more challenging than its bilateral cousin. Not everyone excels. You need to juggle, strike in multiple directions and have the capacity to encircle small and large nations in one big hug to support your causes. Akbar did it with deceptive ease. Even those interminable turgid speeches Indian envoys make became short and punchy – a trace of Greek classics here, a little Alice in Wonderland there. His Twitter feed was always fun.
But he leaves behind real achievements. Look at the “Akbarnama”: the Gandhi Solar Park atop the UN headquarters which literally lights up the Security Council office, designation of Masood Azhar as a terrorist after a 10-year tussle, forcing a British “withdrawal” to get India’s Dalveer Bhandari on the International Court of Justice, approval of Hindi as a UN outreach language, pushing back China-Pakistan “incursions” on Kashmir.
The list is long and Akbar would be the first to admit that luck played a role. The solar park was a “one in a million shot” but interest in climate change, showcasing India’s commitment to renewables and Gandhi’s 150thbirth anniversary blended nicely into a huge diplomatic victory last September. Then the time he got the UN building lit up with a “Happy Diwali” message, packaging it as a “multicultural” event because many countries celebrate the festival.
Akbar used the fact a year later to get the UN to issue a Diwali stamp. Still not done, he managed to get an India-themed UN stamp for four years straight, including on Gandhi, M.S. Subbulakshmi and yoga. Amjad Ali Khan and A.R. Rahman performed gratis to mark big Indian anniversaries. Lesson: Cultural diplomacy can keep your country’s profile buzzing.
But the most far-sighted has to be the India-UN Development Partnership Fund to finance small projects in 70 countries where India has no diplomatic presence. Think Dominica, Palau, St. Lucia. With a modest $150 million fund over 10 years, India is now “present” — India pays, the UN agencies implement. Early warning systems for countries in the Pacific Islands, improving sanitation in Chad and now the Fund is sending medical supplies to Nauru, Antigua and Barbuda and three other tiny nations to fight the Corona virus. The countries are grateful. And they have a vote. Lesson: Give economic content to ties for real influence.
Akbar is fond of saying the UN is “a numbers game.” If you want to win an election, Nauru’s vote can weigh as heavy as Norway’s. Many don’t get it or are lazy. Barely a year into the job, his mandate was to get Justice Bhandari to the ICJ against the British candidate.
There were too many fault lines – north vs. south, east vs. west, permanent members vs. all others and finally, good practitioners of law vs. revisionists. Incidentally, dear friend Japan didn’t vote for India.
It was a stress test but hard work in the UN General Assembly paid off. After seven rounds of voting, the UK withdrew its candidate – a satisfying result at multiple levels. Lesson: You can beat down a permanent member with the right alliance.
Akbar’s linguistic slam, dunks against Pakistan are legend – it was death by a thousand words. His verbal arrows (“dark arts,” “upstream terrorism,” “downstream hate speech”) were often delivered late at night by young first secretaries in the silly India-Pak games during the UN General Assembly. Lesson: All games must be won.
One of the best interventions against Pakistan has to be Akbar’s impromptu press conference last August after the UNSC held an “informal” meeting on Article 370 at China’s behest. The Chinese and Pakistani envoys tried to spin the non-meeting into a mountain but didn’t have the courage to face journalists. Akbar took an on-the-spot decision to go to the podium and turned the whole thing around. He kept his cool, answered questions and shook hands with Pakistani journalists, offering friendship. It was a PR coup. Islamabad went into deep shock. Lesson: Contrast India’s openness to Chinese opaqueness every chance you get.
A final observation from your weather beaten observer: It’s a rumour universally acknowledged by MEA beatniks that Akbar has a fan club from his days as the ministry’s spokesman. The presidency of the club is keenly fought over chai in the IIC lawns. Rarely has an Indian diplomat been so appreciated by the lowliest beat reporter to the mavens who are on first-name basis with foreign secretaries. Akbar is unfailingly responsive to all. I think he thinks journalists deserve respect. Imagine.
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