General Hierarchy of Ministries of Foreign Affairs

In bureaucracies, rank and hierarchy matters.  Particularly so I've found in the Asian context in both business and the diplomatic/development arenas.  Working abroad with the US Government, position rank is used as an indicator for who one's appropriate counterpart should be.  It would be a faux pas for a low ranking US Officer to directly contact a senior level official with a local Ministry.

Internally, USAID seems to me to be a fairly flat organization where first tour officers can comfortably chat with the Mission Director, but externally, it may be prudent to be cognizant of one's counterparts and their approach with the host government and to other US government agencies.  I've not heard of any internal USAID classes or discussions to know what counterpart rankings in the host government are, so I after asking around, this is a illustrative listing that might represent a typical Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

*Note, attache in this sense is in a illustrative MFA hierarchy.  Attache means "attached" so other ministry personnel in the diplomatic mission, ie. Defense Attache or Trade Attache, don't fit into this hierarchy in this manner.

CFO/OAA Conference

Last week, I was able to make it out for bit to the CFO/OAA joint conference.  Much of the conference was in regard to implementing procurement reform and the USAID Forward initiatives.  It was a very good conference and I was excited to see the initiative still very much alive and progressing.  Many sessions dealt with best practices for implementation as well as brain-storming/sharing sessions on lessons learned in the field and understanding the challenges and roadblocks.

One of the best parts about the conference was the opportunity to meet many of the FSO's from the Missions overseas as well as reunite with colleagues from my DLI class who are already at post.  I had the opportunity to meet colleagues and supervisors whom I will be working with in my onward assignments which is invaluable IMO to be able to meet people in person.

Not sure if another conference will be able to be held next year due to the many government budgetary pressures which is a shame since I think it was so useful.

In other news, a State colleague picked up some fun lapel pins for me from Main State.

Indonesian Embassy Independence Day Celebration

The Indonesian Ambassador, his wife, and his DCM shook hands and greeted every attendee.

Yesterday, I attended the Indonesian Independence Day celebration at the Indonesian Embassy.  Indonesia declared independence on Aug. 17, 1945; however, they were only now celebrating their Independence Day due to last month being the month of Ramadan, in which a formal celebration would have been inappropriate.  Note, Indonesia is the most populated Muslim majority nation in the world.

The Indonesian Ambassador to the US, H.E. Dr. Dino Patti Djalal.

My Indonesian class was invited to attend by the Indonesian Embassy as we will all be working in Indonesia next year.  The event featured traditional Indonesian dance performances, speeches by the Indonesian Ambassador, and four officials from the US (Asia Bureau, Commerce, Education, and DoD).  I think the four speeches by the US was a bit too many and would have preferred just the Indonesian Ambassador speak and maybe one official from the US with just mention of other esteemed guests, but it was still all ok.

The Embassy served a variety of hors d'oeuvres and refreshments including wine and mixed drinks.  They also had a full meal served cocktail-style including Indonesian fried rice, salad, satay, and other Indonesian dishes.  I was too famished at the time and neglected to take a picture of the food spread :P.

The inside of the embassy was very impressive.  I think I may have come into the embassy during the Passport DC event earlier, but I'm not sure since I saw so many of them.  Would have taken more pictures but didn't want to appear too much of a tourist at my first representational event.

I'm very glad I was able to attend to the event and it was good inspiration for me to work to get my Indonesian to a level where I can capably converse!

White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders

Attended an event hosted by the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (WHIAAPA).  Basically, this organization is like an Affinity Group but on a national scale.  So they work to ensure access and opportunities for Asian Americans in the US in general as well as encourage their participation in public service or politics.  I was invited to attend this event by my cubemate who is a FSO from the prior (January) DLI class and her sister was a coordinator for this event.

This particular event was to kick off the start of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (May) as well as honor the Asian American Presidential Appointees: Department of Energy Secretary Chu and Department of Commerce Secretary and future Ambassador to China Secretary Locke.

DoE Secretary Chu

DoC Secretary Locke

It was cool to be able to see important political figures speak and interesting meeting and networking with people from many different agencies.  It's very different hear people introduce themselves from various government agencies rather than I work on XYZ program as an ABC which I was so used to.  I'm sure though the mystique will wear off and it will just be normal.  It's also interesting, but expected, how the majority of people you'll meet in DC is a transplant from somewhere else in the US.  It's been very uncommon for me to meet people that are actually born and raised DC or the close surrounding area.

It was also interesting for me to hear that when both Chu and Locke spoke, they talked a bit about the difficulties they had in educating their families about their political or public service ambitions.  Few Asian Americans are interested in Government or political work, particularly at least from the Midwest.

Locke at the podium and Chu in the background to his right.