Vasilis Polemitis is a former Cyprus diplomat. He holds a Bachelor's degree from Pace University, New York, and graduate degrees from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and Georgetown University. He has also completed a high-level course of the European Security and Defence College. Today Mr Polemitis performs the role of Non executive director to private companies and non governmental organizations.
You have served as the ambassador of the Republic of Cyprus to the UAE. Looking back, what key achievements of your team and yourself would you highlight?
Indeed, between December 2015 and August 2019, I was honored to serve as the ambassador of the Republic of Cyprus to the United Arab Emirates, with concurrent accreditation to Bahrain. Additionally, I was also accredited as a Permanent Representative of Cyprus to the International Renewable Energy Agency, which is headquartered in Abu Dhabi.
I can say, from the outset, that serving in the United Arab Emirates was a humble personal and professional objective because, throughout my diplomatic career, I had been a staunch believer in the need to understand the regional geopolitical landscape that covers the wider West Asia. The region starting from the Caucasus and the Haemus peninsula to the North, cutting across the Eastern Mediterranean and stretching through the Arabian plains, all the way down to the Sea of Oman and the Indian Ocean, constitutes a strategic fault line at the confluence of civilizations, cultures, trade and energy corridors.
… I had been a staunch believer in the need to understand the regional geopolitical landscape that covers the wider West Asia
And the United Arab Emirates is at the juncture of this system, both commercially and diplomatically, while Cyprus is strategically positioned at the heart of the Eastern Mediterranean maintaining ancient cordial links with almost all of the peoples and countries in this wider region. Within these parameters, the development of excellent relations with the countries of the Middle East and the Gulf has been a primary pillar of the current Cypriot foreign policy.
Having these considerations in mind, my team at the Embassy and the political leadership of the government in Cyprus worked diligently to actively fulfill our objectives. And by that, I mean the need for an Embassy to actively take part in shaping the foreign policy of the State, and to take initiative. Even more so, when it comes to a small country like Cyprus, with limited international networks and resources, and a rather introvert and reserved mentality, that is currently changing, of course.
As far as specific achievements, I was pleased to note the completion and initiation of a number of important tasks, bilateral agreements, official visits and an increase in commercial activity. Across the political, economic, societal, cultural and security fields, there are tangible and measurable results. The team at the Embassy was exceptional and despite the very limited resources and heavy workload that usually characterizes Embassies of small countries that aspire to do their job well, we managed to produce excellent results. The culmination of which, was to confer on me the Order of Independence, First Class, of the United Arab Emirates, which reflects on the cumulative efforts of the entire team, of all of us, who served diligently during this time.
What makes Cyprus diplomacy unique in contributing to the image of Cyprus around the world?
Aside from what could be characterized as routine diplomatic work - meaning the promotion and protection of national interests, the development of friendly relations through institutional means such as bilateral frameworks, and the provision of consular services - a Cypriot diplomat is also tasked with the amelioration and reversal of the intended consequences of the illegal division of Cyprus, and the protection of the Republic from the ongoing Turkish imposition. It is an existential issue for Cyprus. Having said that, and while acknowledging the burden it carries, it does, nevertheless, constitute an additional motive that propels a Cypriot diplomat to become more creative and focus on all those efforts that send out the message that Cyprus is a country, not a problem.
As such, the Cypriot diplomat, in order to be successful, has to develop and project a constructive role and image of an international affairs practitioner who wishes to be a contributor to progress in the international system. A contributor to international cooperation and regional human security. Not a mere consumer of it.
In short, a Cypriot diplomat must be, above and beyond anything else, a forward-looking foreign affairs professional that acts as a conduit between the world and his homeland, an agent of change and a carrier of added value for his country and its partners around the globe.
During your mandate, how did you manage the image of your country and prejudices?
Diplomacy, as it has been practiced for hundreds of years, with its exclusive club status, singular prerogative of State representation, and narrow government to government communication, is over. Those diplomats who insist otherwise realize sooner or later that the significance and value of “old school” diplomacy today carries the same value as that of a three Euro bill. Simply, it does not exist.
As a result, a diplomat, today, is one more link among the myriad other links that exist in the communication among countries, governments, industries, societies and people. What makes a diplomat’s role special is the ability to mediate between those other players and factors. To provide direction and to facilitate communication. As such, the image of the individual diplomat is directly linked to that of her or his country, especially since this image is widely projected in the current globalized system of multimedia communication. Long gone are the days when the diplomat could choose to “surround” himself or herself with those status symbols that could place him on a pedestal. Despite any prescriptions that stem from protocol, which is also changing, by the way, the truth is that a diplomat is what his country is. If one’s country is in the wrong in the eyes of the international community, rightfully or not, the diplomat will bear the burden, too. Hence, my reference to the need for a diplomat not only to project the State’s image and interest but to actively affect them too, through agency and well-meaning advice.
…a Cypriot diplomat must be, above and beyond anything else, a forward-looking foreign affairs professional that acts as a conduit between the world and his homeland
So to paraphrase the known saying which proclaims that a “diplomat is an honest person who is sent to lie for his country” I would say that a “diplomat is an honest person who always needs to say the truth on behalf of his country, and convey the truth back to his country.”
Which impressions are deeply ingrained in the memory of your diplomatic career?
In the twenty years I served in the foreign service of Cyprus I was privileged to serve in a wide variety of roles, both at the headquarters in Nicosia and abroad. I wouldn’t exaggerate if I said that I had the opportunity to get involved with pretty much every subject that constitutes the foreign policy agenda. From protocol tasks and consular work to international economic affairs and security and defense policy. In both bilateral and multilateral settings.
I recall the work I was doing as a junior multilateral affairs officer during a secondment to the United Nations General Assembly second committee in New York back in 2001, a few weeks after 9/11 with the same fondness I recall the five years I spent as political counselor in Washington DC. At the time, I was dealing with the executive branch, the think tank community, the IMF and the World Bank and the US – Cyprus exchanges around the Cyprus problem negotiations at the time. A very challenging and fulfilling time indeed.
Subsequently, the four years I served as deputy head of mission in Moscow, allowed me to experience the resurgence of the Russian regional and international footprint, and to assist in the development of the bilateral relations at the highest level.
Equally challenging and rewarding was also the time I spent as Security Policy Director in Nicosia that coincided with the Cyprus presidency of the Council of the EU, during which I served as president of the Counterterrorism committee in Brussels.
Interesting memories come to mind, also, from the role Cyprus played during the joint UN-OPCW mission in Syria for the removal of the chemical weapons arsenal. As the point of contact and coordinator for Cyprus, I was able to spearhead the efforts to develop the regional added value of Cyprus in the security field, and to contribute to the attempts for peace and stability.
Following that assignment, I served as the diplomatic advisor to the minister of defense and worked hand in hand with my colleagues in the armed forces to enhance defense diplomacy. At the end of 2015, I began serving as the ambassador to the UAE and permanent representative to IRENA, at a time when renewable energy usage was increasingly expanding worldwide.
There are many stories to tell for each of the assignments and I am happy and content to have served my country well as a foreign service officer. But most fondly of all, I recall the handling of each and every humanitarian and consular assistance issue since it was usually directly linked to someone’s personal story and difficultly in an hour of need away from their home.
How does the digitization of diplomacy affect your work?
This is actually a very good question because it follows up to the preceding one. The need for a diplomat to speak the truth to all directions stems also from the fact that the amount of information that is produced and circulates around the world at any moment is vast and constantly increasing. If we couple that with the proliferation of certain social media platforms, the rise of fake news and misinformation campaigns, we are left only with one choice. To speak the truth. Whether someone is a politician or a government official, she or he cannot maintain their credibility for long if they are dishonest. The same goes for the focus of their work. If they limit themselves to image-making and cheap and sensational public relations moves, they will run a very short course on anything that is of any real consequence. I wish to underline this, because they may still be perceived as successful, at least in the short and medium-term, but they will not really matter.
As a result, the digitization of diplomacy, especially as it is done through social media needs to move in parallel with real, tangible and identifiable action. Otherwise, it becomes another form of a misinformation campaigning, sensationalistic communication and “fake news” which in turn jeopardizes the credibility of the State. It goes without saying, of course, that it exposes and damages the person who does it too.
What digital platforms do you use for official purposes and how do you connect with the audience? My team and I chose from the start to distinguish our own private social media platforms from those of the Embassy. As a result, we developed separate and distinct social media platforms for official purposes only, although I have to admit that some people kept submitting inquiries directly and privately, which of course we had to politely revert back to the official channels. That was an interesting observation since people, in their urgency to communicate, tend to also do so at every hour of the day. The proximity to the point of contact and the accessibility that one perhaps feels may explain this.
It actually points out to the fact that social media digital platforms are a means of communication, and not just one more static web presence, advertising and showcasing activity. Web 2 changed all that a long time ago. And governments have to understand that, and realize that a Twitter or a Facebook account that misses out on the interactivity and two-way communication is a half—baked solution. In time, and with the wider use of automation protocols in handling routine inquires and the implementation of artificial intelligence software, the interactive nature of digital platforms will be enhanced. This is a one-way road, I believe. Otherwise, we run the risk of creating smokescreens of digital presence which are otherwise “analog” in the background.
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