Cameron orders diplomats to be more business minded
DIPLOMATS must put securing private-sector contracts at the heart of their work, Prime Minister David Cameron said in a speech in New York.
The government is also expected to consider opening up applications for senior civil service jobs – including ambassador posts around the world – to people from the private sector to help engineer the changes in diplomatic culture.
The Conservative-Liberal Democratic coalition government wants the private sector – and a surge in exports – to drive Britain’s economic recovery from an 18-month recession while ministers slash spending to cut a record budget deficit.
Cameron said encouraging diplomats and travelling ministers to scout for trade was “extremely important for Britain as we come out of recession and go into recovery.”
“I want to refresh British foreign policy to make it much more focussed on the commercial aspect,” he said. “I want to be much more focussed on winning orders for British business overseas.”
The coalition has indicated it will pursue a less interventionist foreign policy than the previous Labour government that entered wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, choosing instead to build trading ties to maintain global influence.
Ambassadors and ministers on foreign trips would be expected to draw up lists of opportunities for trade and work hard to woo business as a central goal of their missions.
Cameron and Foreign Secretary William Hague have met with Britain’s overseas ambassadors in London to discuss the changes.