VISITS Official, Business, Private Meetings of the State

VISITS Official, Business, Private

Meetings of the State Leaders, visiting of the official delegations are the peaks of the diplomatic activity – the greatest achievement of the efforts undertaken by the diplomats. The meetings at the top ranking level do create a number of possibilities with the chance “to double-check the course” in the form of the exchange of views. The other reason for the top-ranking meeting is the exchange of views or official negotiations on the issues of the mutual interest. When the issues are discussed and agreed the top-ranking visits are devoted to signing the treaties, agreements and contracts which are vital for the bilateral relations or can have the impact for the future of the other countries or the entire world community. The meetings can be the subject of sorting out the debatable territories and conflict of interests with the idea to reconcile and bring the parties to peace.

Protocol details related to the top-ranking visits depend to a great extent on the status and position of the visiting guest (President of the Country, Prime-Minister or Minister of Foreign Affairs or some other senior person) and the subject-matter of the meeting. All the procedures are carried out in accordance with the norms accepted in the hosting country. The Diplomatic Corp. is informed of all the events with respect of the visit as well as the incoming changes into the Program of the Visit. According to the format all the visits are identified as State visits, Official visits, Working visits, Visits in the capacity of the private guest and Transit visits. State Visits are of the top ranking caliber paid by the leaders of the foreign states. They are somewhat special and take place only once in the life-time of one’s presidency. Some exceptional Protocol formalities are put into effect at the meeting and seeing-off ceremonies. The highly esteemed guest enjoys all the symbols of the Presidential authority. The presidential aero plane is escorted by the military aircrafts. The guest is met by the senior officials including the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The ceremony is arranged according to the Protocol of the receiving state. The national anthem of the visiting party is played in honor of the guest who is also welcomed by the marching drill of the guards of all the military units.

The state visit begins with the ceremony of welcome that takes place at the Palace of the President of the hosting state with the involvement of the members of the official delegations of the both sides and the members of the Diplomatic Corp. The ceremony begins with the brief presentations and the words of welcome. Then the guest and his team proceed to the residential zones of stay. The official part of the program provides for the visits to the Cabinet of Ministers and the Parliament. The program of stay is worked out by the Protocol department after discussion and approval of the other party. After the program is done the involved parties give the press-conference to the Mass Media people. The program is worked out with the idea to combine business and pleasure so that the guests could get the feel of the local culture and meet with the students and citizens. The tradition of the State visit still provides for the tour of the country, but it dies off due to the lack of time. If the guest arrives with his wife the special program is in place taken care of by the first lady of the hosting state.

Usually the program of the visit fits with visiting the Drama Theatre or Opera House. Before the Show the National Anthems are played. The Guests arrive at the theatre with flowers for the actors and conductor of the orchestra. Sometimes the show ends up with the dinner in honor of the actors and singers. As the rule the visiting of the memorial places like the monument to the “Unknown Soldier”, “Eternal Flame” or some other historical monuments take place. Homage rendered to the state leaders is defined by the Constitutions of the countries. The President of Germany is lower than the Chancellor in terms of seniority. The Prime-Minister of the Great Britain is the No.1 leader as the head of the executive authority. The Official Visit is something done by the state leader with the idea to discuss or solve some vital problems. These sort of visits never last more than one day. The scenario of the ceremonies at the airport are the same as the ones at the State visit, but smaller in scale. One member of the hosting government is appointed as the permanent escort of the honorable guest.

The Working Visits are called as targeted visits when the leader arrives with some concrete objective which is to be discussed and put into effect as something urgent. The ceremonies are simple with the put up flags of the visiting and hosting country. There is no orchestra or military units with the marching drill. The flags of the states are put up at the airport and the residence of the high ranking guest. The official reception is given in honor of the guest and his team. The working visit is initiated by the visiting party and is accomplished at the expense of the visitor. Transit Visits are the short term events that take place on the way to the point of destination or home country. Most of them are non-official, but can be very significant from the point of the bilateral relation or intended solution of the problem that requires some team effort. The transit visits are announced in advance and are known to the involved parties. The hosting party is aware of the expectations and can render all the facilities for the full format interactions.

Being as a rule non-official they do not have the ceremonies, but can be very effective with regard to the solution of some urgent problems. The transit visit of the Soviet Premier A.Kosygin cracked the back of the Soviet-China confrontation and caused the considerable reconsideration on the both sides. The protocol departments should arrange the most appropriate formalities for the arriving party. Though short they can be intensive in terms of contacts and the final solutions. The issue of comfort and ease should be predominant. Meetings in the third state are quite common for the leaders of the states. We can refer to the meetings of the Anti-Hitler coalition in Tehran and Potsdam during the Second World War. The exception was the meeting in Yalta because of the bitter battle fields on the territory of the Soviet Union. These sort of meetings involve the third party – the hosting state which can be involved at the discretion of the key players. These meetings take place with the focus on the issue of parity.