Embassy of the United States

Speeches

“The Human Dimension Of Diplomacy” -- Remarks By the U.S. Ambassador Anne W. Patterson, At the Foreign Service Academy, Islamabad

Ambassador of the United States of America, Anne W. Patterson
Remarks to the Foreign Service Academy, Islamabad, Pakistan

September 5, 2007

“The Human Dimension of Diplomacy”

I’d like to thank the Director of the Foreign Service Academy, Ms. Fauzia Nasreen, for inviting me today. I’d also like to congratulate the students in this class. It is an honor and responsibility to represent your country abroad, as you will do after completing your training. You are at the threshold of a career that will be both more demanding and more fulfilling than you can now imagine.

Your life as a diplomat will take you not only to unexpected places but also into fields of work that you never envisioned. You are also joining an organization with a reputation for excellence among its diplomatic colleagues. Pakistan, Brazil, the Netherlands, and Canada come to mind as services known for their particularly talented and hardworking diplomats who know how to get things done.

When I began my own diplomatic career 34 years ago, I was an economic officer. I expected that my work would be to analyze and report on economic trends and to share information with my counterparts in other countries. I would not have thought when I was a new foreign service officer in 1973 that my work would take me to so many countries or that it would go so far beyond traditional state-to-state diplomacy. Most recently, as the Assistant Secretary for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement, I participated in a global effort against transnational crime and drug trafficking. My posts at the U.S. missions to the United Nations, first in Geneva and more recently in New York, gave me the opportunity to represent my country in multilateral diplomacy, which I very much enjoyed. Now it is my privilege to serve as President Bush’s envoy to Pakistan, a country that is a vital partner for the United States.

I use the word “partner” deliberately. The United States wants a long-term, broad-based partnership with Pakistan. Of course, my government is interested in current political developments here. And I have no doubt that Pakistanis are following domestic politics in the United States with just as much interest as our own presidential election draws near. The United States and Pakistan are both now in full “election season,” so the rhetoric is often overheated. Citizens of both countries will simply have to take a deep breath and let some of this talk slide by.

As we have often said, the United States does not support particular candidates or parties in your electoral process. We support free, fair, and transparent elections that reflect the choices of the Pakistani people. We support the efforts of your government, of your political parties, of your civil society, and indeed of ordinary citizens to continue building a democratic and prosperous Pakistan. For our part, the United States is committed to helping solidify the basis for long-term peace, stability, and development in this region. This is the foundation for a partnership that serves both countries well.

Transformational Diplomacy

As I mentioned, when I started in the foreign service, diplomats had a more traditional observer role than they have now. One of my primary responsibilities was reporting on events in my host country. But given the tremendous growth of global communications, there is simply less need to report on foreign events, since you can read about them in the international press or on the Internet.

But Secretary Rice has also urged us in the American diplomatic corps to take action to bring about change. She calls this approach “transformational diplomacy,” and she has tried to focus our diplomatic service on specific, concrete actions -- with particular emphasis on post-conflict situations.

The goal, to quote her, is to “use American diplomacy . . . to build and sustain democratic, well-governed states that will respond to the needs of their people . . . Transformational diplomacy is rooted in partnership, not paternalism -- in doing things with other people, not for them.”

The United States has learned in Haiti, Bosnia, Afghanistan, and of course most recently in Iraq, that we need robust civilian and diplomatic efforts to be successful. Particularly, we need real experts in foreign countries and languages and an entire range of technical skills, from agencies like USAID.

With transformational diplomacy as our framework, American policy-makers examine our relationships with other countries by asking three essential questions:

First, what interests do we share?

Second, what are the needs?

Third, how can we help?

Sometimes the answer to this last question is by responding quickly and positively to a tragic event.

For instance, the U.S. Government provided 510 million dollars in various kinds of relief and assistance to Pakistan after the devastating earthquake in October 2005. A number of those reconstruction and recovery projects are still under way, helping people as they rebuild their homes and livelihoods.

Earlier this year, we provided emergency relief funds after Cyclone Yemyin to help some 90,000 people who suffered from the floods. Humanitarian efforts are a way to reach out to the people of Pakistan in their time of need.

To set our shared, longer-term diplomatic goals, we engage with our Pakistani counterparts -- particularly your new bosses in the Foreign Ministry -- in a detailed series of consultations. Pakistan and the U.S. do not always agree precisely on how to achieve our common goals, but we will resolve any differences and come to agreement through our candid conversations. These differences are usually ones of implementation and emphasis, as they are with any complex, bilateral relationship.

Right now, we are looking forward to the next round of our Strategic Dialogue, a forum in which we will look at the full range of our bilateral relationship. The dialogue will be about how we can work together to advance our common interests in security, education, science and technology, energy, economic growth and development, as well as regional and global issues. These are all areas where Pakistan can excel. This broad agenda shows that diplomacy involves much more than observation.

We discuss these issues together because political, economic, and social change are related. Pakistan has enjoyed several years of rapid economic growth. The United States would like to assist programs that distribute the benefits of this growth as widely as possible. And as a former economic officer, I would also like to see American companies and investors -- whom I believe are relatively underrepresented -- participate in what could be an enormous economic boom.

In contrast to my own country with its aging population, Pakistan has what pundits call a “youth bulge,” with a large percentage of its population under 18. The western press often portrays this as a cohort of dissatisfied, unemployable young people, who are ripe to embrace extremism. I believe this is wrong. While these young people need schools and jobs, they will also enter the labor force in large numbers. They will produce as well as consume services; they will spend their money on local products; and they have the potential to transform society.

In my own country, and in much of western Europe and Japan, we will struggle with the costs of our relatively large “graying” population. Pakistan won’t have this problem. The challenge will be keeping positive momentum on development and democracy simultaneously. This will ensure that young people not only have jobs but also get involved politically. Sharing the benefits of economic growth among all Pakistanis will guard against the dangers of disillusionment and alienation.

Foundations for the Future: Human Capital

I’d like to turn now to some of the programs the United States is supporting in Pakistan. These efforts are investments in Pakistan’s richest resource -- its human capital. Much of our human capital investment is supporting your government’s development of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

On the U.S. side, we are working hard to ensure that our Congress passes legislation to implement the Reconstruction Opportunity Zones -- or ROZs -- in the FATA and earthquake-affected areas. Companies that locate in these zones would receive preferential treatment for making selected products over a 15-year term, which is the longest possible time frame offered under any U.S. preferential trade program. We believe this will provide a significant boost to economic development and job creation in the FATA, and that it will increase Pakistan’s exports to America.

Here in Pakistan, the U.S. government has committed 750 million dollars in assistance over five years to complement your government’s 10-year, 2 billion dollar FATA development plan. One of the most impressive aspects of this plan is the grassroots participation that went into creating it. The input of civic and tribal leaders, women, military personnel, and local officials ensures that the plan is comprehensive and responds to the most vital needs of the people in the region.

Education and human capital are two sides of the same coin. The educational programs the U.S. is supporting in the FATA offer a good example of how our shared priorities have a direct impact on people’s lives and their future prospects. Broader access to education and comprehensive study programs will build the foundation for Pakistan to become more competitive in the global economy. We believe that through support for education, we can help reduce poverty, and give young people the means to become productive citizens.

Our experience with partners around the world proves that investment in education always pays off. It is a tragedy when a bright young child who wants to learn has no opportunity because there is no school nearby, or no qualified teacher, or the cost of attending school is too great for a family to bear. But your government is committed to improving literacy and making education available in rural areas. Your programs granting scholarships for technical schools and promoting education for young girls are impressive.

We are working with Pakistani officials at all levels to improve the education system -- from primary schools all the way up to adult literacy. Our funding has helped expand teacher training, provide textbooks and other materials, and encourage school attendance.

The number of primary school students is growing dramatically, so we support efforts to expand teacher education opportunities in order to bring more people into the profession. To reach remote areas, we are developing “distance learning” programs with instruction by radio. We sponsor 15 English Literacy Centers that will not only prepare students for science, math, and computer science courses taught in English, but also will give them a foundation for future international study or business opportunities. A variety of scholarship programs offers access to higher education for more students. Certainly in my own country, vocational training was key to our development, so the United States supports vocational and job training to channel young people’s talents into useful skills.

We also have a long history of people-to-people exchanges between the U.S. and Pakistan, especially in education. Our Fulbright program here is the world's largest, bringing some 220 Pakistani scholars each year to American universities. We sponsor more than 80 International Visitors for short-term programs in the United States in their professional fields. Another exchange program has brought 158 secondary school students from Pakistan to the U.S. to study while living with a host family. Even in the age of instant communications, there is no substitute for the personal relationships that these exchanges create.

The students who are taking part in government-sponsored exchange programs join a vibrant community of Pakistani students on American college and university campuses. In the most recent academic year, almost 6,000 students from Pakistan attended U.S. institutions. This is a great way of cementing the links between our countries in a very personal way.

These students, along with associations of Pakistani-Americans, play an increasingly prominent role in multicultural U.S. society. Pakistani-American political and professional groups are active in reaching out to Congress, to local officials, and to their own communities to expand on the longstanding official ties between the U.S. and Pakistan.

Leaders in the Pakistani-American community are prosperous, well-educated, and feel at ease in both countries. Their activism through formal and informal channels is another angle of the human dimension of diplomacy -- private citizens working for change that will benefit both sides.

To this end, we are working diligently to welcome legitimate visitors and immigrants to America from all over the world. I am pleased to report that more than 30,000 Pakistanis received "visitor" visas in the past 12 months and nearly 7,000 new immigrants received their permanent resident visas. The best way to learn about the U.S. is to study, work, or travel there. Of course we have to strike a balance with the need for security in today's environment. Increased scrutiny of visa applications has caused delays. But my government is working hard to streamline these procedures and facilitate travel, while also protecting our national interests.

The Long-Term View

As you can tell from the scope of the relations between Pakistan and the United States, our partnership represents a series of long-term commitments to progress and peace. We cannot talk about democracy, or education, or economic growth, as a one-time event. These are processes that will yield results over time.

And they are commitments that are worth making. Our government believes that foreign assistance best supports those nations that are making political and economic reforms. Development depends on good, accountable governance, and economic policies that unleash private sector growth. Pakistan has made tremendous strides in these areas. At every opportunity, I tell my fellow Americans about your economic progress, as there is still too little appreciation for these facts outside of Pakistan.

As you know, all nations base their foreign policy on national interests. For us, the U.S.-Pakistan long-term relationship means a reduced terrorist threat and a strong, democratic, prosperous Pakistan. I believe this relationship will also yield substantial benefits for your country: more two-way trade, more U.S. investment, and stronger people-to-people contacts -- to name just a few.

As Pakistan’s future diplomats, you will take on these challenges, working to further your country’s interests and to define its role in the international community. You will deal not only with other governments and multilateral institutions, but also with your own citizens abroad, with influential legislatures, and with the public. As I mentioned at the outset, Pakistan has one of the best diplomatic corps in the world, and you are now a member of a very distinguished group. I wish each of you well as you launch your career, wherever it may take you.

Thank you.