At the occasion of the traditional ceremony of new year wishes to the members of the diplomatic corps, the international organizations and specialized agencies, held in January 2007, the Madagascar Minister of Foreign Affairs seized this opportunity to review the diplomatic activity of its country during the past five years, a period notably marked by the election in 2002 of Marc Ravalomanana as president of the country in a political environment particularly unstable.

This assessment was articulated around three main moments: the recognition of president Ravalomanana and the government by the international community, a greater visibility of the country on the international scene and by the increasing international confidence in the country; confidence which subsequently positively impacted on international aid flow in a context of fight against poverty.

Among the most important achievements of the Madacascan diplomacy during that period, the Minister cited the visit of some personalities like the presidents of the Federal Republic of Germany and France, the Vice-Prime Minister of China, etc. The Minister also evoked the reaching of the point of completion which allowed the cancellation of the country debts owned by the Paris and London Clubs and the members of the G8.

Within the framework of the reorganization of the Ministry, with the objective of putting the Madagascar diplomatic apparatus at the service of the country’s development, the Minister announced that activities of missions abroad were reorientated towards actions of economic promotion in order to increase foreign direct investments; an aspect of a concept and practice, known as Economic Diplomacy, many African countries are trying to develop and a movement towards which African States Diplomacies are progressively heading taking into consideration challenges that represent poverty reduction, under-development, under-investment for their populations.