Celebrating Global Economic Statecraft Day

Posted by Jose W. Fernandez / June 17, 2012

Jose W. Fernandez serves as Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs.

On June 14, our embassies and consulates throughout the world, and many of us across the government here in Washington, celebrated Global Economic Statecraft Day (GESD) to recognize all the ways we are putting economics at the forefront of our foreign policy. And this recognition came all the way from the top: Secretary Clinton used her keynote speech at the African Growth and Opportunity Act Forum to mark GESD, and President Obama released a video message dedicated to the day's commemoration.

Above all, GESD was an opportunity to honor the dynamism and creativity of the ambassadors, economic officers, commercial officers, locally engaged staff, and their colleagues at all of our posts around the globe in the work that they do every day in support of America's economic renewal. American embassies and consulates on every continent and in every corner of the world hosted over 250 events in 130 countries that support American jobs, sending the unequivocal message that America is open for business. With that prospective, strategic focus, Embassy Tegucigalpa used June 14 to unveil its Jobs Diplomacy and Anti-Corruption Strategies, while also discussing plans for its pilot Domestic Finance for Development (DF4D) program with the Tegucigalpa Chamber of Commerce.

GESD programs around the globe also focused on securing the global economic future, bringing businesses, governments, and civil societies together to find new ways of tackling our shared economic challenges.

A prime example of this partnership in action occurred in Yerevan, Armenia, where our embassy and the Armenian government hosted a joint conference, with over 100 participants -- mostly from small- and medium-sized businesses. The conference examined current business practices that restrict competition and create "bottlenecks" that distort the market. Participants went on to propose collaborative solutions to these challenges, including a renewed focus on international best practices in countering collusion, abuse of dominant market position, and restricted market access. The Ambassador recorded a video message to kick off the event.

Entrepreneurship was the theme for many of our posts in their GESD activities. The U.S. Consulate General Jerusalem, in coordination with Partners for a New Beginning (PNB) and Coca-Cola, hosted an event to highlight the importance of public-private partnerships, youth engagement, and entrepreneurship in economic development. The reception honored the 13 Palestinian university students who will depart soon to participate in the Global Business Institute at the University of Indiana's Kelley School of Business. This is the first program of its kind to leverage a public-private partnership to enable Palestinians to participate in an exchange program in the United States. In Jakarta, the Deputy Chief of Mission offered U.S. support to the Indonesian Young Entrepreneur's Association, and helped them prepare their delegation's July trip to California.

Women entrepreneurs were at the center of events for embassies Kabul, Nairobi, and Dhaka. In Afghanistan, the Nangarhar Women's Commerce Center hosted a fashion show and handicrafts exhibition attended by government representatives, female parliamentarians, and the public. This event was not only an opportunity to promote local entrepreneurs, but also demonstrated the role Afghan women can play in building a stronger economy. Members of Kenya's Federation of Women Entrepreneur Associations participated in an event at Embassy Nairobi. Held for AGOA Awareness Day, the exhibition featured a spectrum of Kenyan firms who export or are "export-ready." In Dhaka, Bangladeshi and American women entrepreneurs participated in a Youth Exchange, where they discussed the challenges and opportunities for local women entrepreneurs, as well as new opportunities for partnership and global business networks using technology and the Internet.

In Kazakhstan, our embassy hosted the Tech Forum Central Asia (TFCA). This two-day event, with 120 participants from all five Central Asian countries plus Afghanistan and Pakistan, enabled youth activists and entrepreneurs to receive hands-on interactive training from leading American and local technology companies. The event, part of State's "Tech Camps" series, demonstrated how technology augments economic development and promotes corporate social responsibility. In support of the SelectUSA effort, Embassy Stockholm's commercial and economic sections created a prototype SelectUSA foreign direct investment (FDI) map showing the locations of Swedish investment in the United States to encourage more FDI. Consulate General Sao Paulo invited representatives from the science, industry, and technology sectors for a roundtable discussion. The discussion centered on investment in innovation, science and technology, and Brazil's Science without Borders education exchange initiative.

Another major theme was promoting U.S. exports in support of the National Export Initiative. Taking advantage of the recent entry into force of the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement, Embassy Bogotá promoted U.S. exports and tourism with the five biggest Colombian-American Chambers of Commerce. Also promoting U.S. exports and business opportunities for American firms was Ambassador Shannon, who hosted Brazil's first Direct Line web chat. He shared his insights with U.S. companies, academia, and non-governmental organizations on Brazil's economic outlook and investment climate, this event was a perfect example of how we are deepening cooperation between our private sector and our embassies and improving U.S. competitiveness in overseas markets. In Jakarta, Ambassador Marciel held a Direct Line to American Business call on June 13 before leading a delegation of Ambassadors to meet with the Indonesian Minister of Trade.

Although GESD was only one day, Economic Statecraft itself represents the State Department's ongoing responsibility to recognize and respond to the economic dynamics shaping our current and future foreign policy challenges.

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