St. Vincent and the Grenadines is pivoting its foreign policy toward “performance‑based” diplomacy, Minister of Foreign Affairs Dwight Fitzgerald says, adding that this will not affect ties with Taiwan.
Responding to a question from opposition senator Keisal Peters, a former foreign minister, Bramble told Parliament on Tuesday that Kingstown is committed to its relationship with Taipei.
“I know you don’t expect me to give the short answer to the question, because the short answer really is yes,” he said.
“We, of course, appreciate and value the relationship that we have had … over the last 45 years with the government and people of Taiwan,” Bramble said.
“In fact, we anticipate participating quite enthusiastically in the celebrations to mark the 45th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations,” he said of the sapphire anniversary on Aug. 15.
Bramble told lawmakers that the New Democratic Party (NDP) administration, which was elected to office in November, has “made a deliberate shift away from a model of diplomacy defined primarily by presence and toward one defined by performance…
“Foreign policy is not ceremonial, and I’m sure we all know this,” said Bramble, a former diplomat.
“Sometimes our experiences … remind us … what we are talking about and what is really at stake here. It is economic policy, social policy and national security policy projected beyond our borders.”
He said overseas missions would no longer be judged mainly by visibility or protocol functions, but by what they deliver.
“Our overseas missions will no longer be assessed solely by the flags they fly, but by the value they generate,” Bramble told lawmakers.
“Missions and consulates, therefore, will now be expected to … facilitate trade introductions for Vincentian exporters.
In addition to attending ceremonial events, diplomatic engagements will increasingly include structured economic dialogues focused on investment, financing and technical cooperation,” Bramble said.
Bramble’s ministerial portfolio also includes foreign trade, foreign investment, and diaspora affairs.
“Multilateral participation will be tied to clear advocacy objectives, particularly on climate financing, vulnerability indices and concessional lending,” he said.
He said the NDP’s policy of “economic diplomacy” is anchored in development outcomes.
“We all know our realities. We don’t have military might. We don’t influence the global balance of power in any significant way. But we still have to provide for our people….
“We have to make sure that our people cannot only eat and survive, but they can thrive and develop themselves as positive Vincentians who are entitled to a decent standard of living,” he added.
“That is exactly what our overseas missions will be doing under the guidance of this new government.”
He said SVG’s diplomatic missions are to be “engines” of economic development, saying that the government is “repositioning” overseas posts, especially in North America and the United Kingdom, to function as “active engines of economic development”.
“Our missions will focus on attracting quality investment, especially in renewable energy, sustainable tourism, the blue economy and agro‑processing,” Bramble said.
“They will strengthen market access for Vincentian goods and services, targeting diaspora niche markets, while supporting exports in areas such as creative industries, ICT services and professional skills.”
He said the government is also “mobilising our diaspora as a strategic economic partner, not only as a source of remittances, but as investors, entrepreneurs, mentors and contributors of skills and expertise”.
As regards Taiwan, Bramble noted the population of Vincentian students there.
“We have a lot of students in Taiwan, and whereas all of them may not return to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, I am confident and I am positive that they all want to make a positive contribution to the development of this country,” he said.
“We will leverage and we will turn whatever brain drain there is into a brain gain so that our country and our people can move forward,” the minister said.
“Diplomacy under this government must deliver dividends,” Bramble told Parliament.
“Each mission will be guided by defined national priorities and will be tasked with identifying concrete opportunities aligned with those priorities.”
He said SVG will maintain its ties with Taiwan and will deepen efforts to translate external relationships, including with Taipei, into measurable benefits at home.
“It is well known that we have a very sizable diaspora in Taiwan,” he added. “We are going to mobilise and deepen our engagement with regard to not only as a source of remittances, but as investors, entrepreneurs, mentors and contributors of skills and expertise.”
“We will make sure we do whatever we can so that they can, with seeming ease, complete their education and continue with their lives,” he said of Vincentian students there.
“We will leverage… so that our country and our people can move forward.”
“Diplomacy under this government must deliver dividends,” Bramble said. “That is the framework which we are creating now.”
In 2016, the NDP, then under the leadership of Arnhim Eustace, who has since retired from politics, announced that, if elected, it would break ties with Taiwan.
The party has since returned to its pro-Taiwan stance with Taipei’s ambassador to Kingstown among the first diplomats that Prime Minister Godwin Friday met with after the NDP’s overwhelming victory on Nov. 27.
On March 1, the NDP government appointed Taiwan-trained journalist Kenton X. Chance, who speaks Mandarin Chinese and holds a master’s degree in international affairs, as resident ambassador to Taiwan.
Later in March, Deputy Prime Minister of SVG, St. Clair Leacock, led a four-member delegation on an official visit to Taipei, during which he publicly announced his government’s continued commitment to maintaining the diplomatic relationship.
