Randrianirina explains high cost of Malagasy embassies
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on L'Express de Madagascar
Madagascar’s President Michaël Randrianirina says opening an embassy represents a significant expense, particularly because of the ambassador’s salary. He made the remarks to the Malagasy diaspora in Türkiye during a discussion on diplomatic and economic issues, according to L’Express de Madagascar.
Madagascar’s President of the Refoundation, Michaël Randrianirina, explained to the Malagasy diaspora in Türkiye that opening an embassy represents a significant expense, particularly because of an ambassador’s salary. He was responding to a request for diplomatic representation from Malagasy nationals living in Türkiye, according to L’Express de Madagascar.
Members of the diaspora also discussed their living conditions and administrative difficulties. Most work in Türkiye after completing their higher education there, some with scholarships from the Turkish government, and they stressed that Madagascar remains little known among the local public, according to L’Express de Madagascar.
Randrianirina said an embassy is “budget-consuming” and defended the principle of reciprocity in diplomatic relations, while saying that Madagascar does not have the means to open representations in every country with which it maintains relations. He also said that the Refoundation government is the one that has appointed the most ambassadors, according to L’Express de Madagascar.
The request made in Türkiye comes in a context in which the Malagasy diaspora had already requested the opening of a diplomatic representation in the Comoros on 24 August. The request for an embassy in the Comoros had concerned procedures for Malagasy nationals in the archipelago.
