MEA operates with clockwork precision  to clear logistic jam

NEW DELHI: Presidents, prime ministers and senior ministers from at least 43 countries will be in Delhi on Sunday for the inaugural session of the International Solar Alliance.The sheer logistics of hosting so many leaders simultaneously might rattle lesser nations, but the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) fine tuned the protocol to such a degree that it almost seems effortless.

Having recently ensured that 10 ASEAN leaders also attended the Republic Day celebrations as chief guests, the Ministry is extremely confident “no visiting leader ever feels ignored or sidelined.”  
But this is not an easy task. Each visit requires intense coordination between the MEA and other relevant ministries, the embassies and high commissions of both the host and the guest nations, state governments, the police, airports, hotels, municipal corporations, PR agencies, and security and intelligence agencies.
Planning for each visit is usually done months in advance, with each detail being refined and fine-tuned as the event nears. “From organising fresh camel milk for an Arab royal way back in the early 80s to ensuring the hotel room of a Western head of state had access to American satellite television in his hotel room, the MEA spares no attempts to ensure that visiting VVIPs get the full red carpet treatment,” says a diplomat.

“As the lead agency tasked with ensuring that there are no gaffes either by the visitor or the hosts, the Ministry also has to ensure that the agenda moves like  clockwork, while at the same time laying out contingency plans for unplanned delays or obstacles.” “Then, there are other sensitive issues like order of precedence, flouting which could lead to serious diplomatic heartburn. All these things have to be clearly laid down and meticulously followed for every visit.”

The MEA ensures each treaty or MoU that is signed with the visiting leader has zero errors. “The govt recently released a comprehensive SOP with various checklists to ensure that all such documents reflect the current reality. Not one word in such documents should be open to debate or misinterpretation,” the diplomat said.For the MEA, it is all in a day’s work.  “Today, we can safely say that we can even deal with 100 VVIPs simultaneously. Not too many nations can boast of it,”  an official said.