Envoy Says Madagascar Is on Road to Recovery by Larry Luxner Encompassing 228,000 square miles and 16 million people, remote Madagascar has roughly the same size and population as Texas. But few people know much about Madagascaróthe worldís fourth-largest islandóbecause itís so far away and rarely makes headlines. Following presidential elections last December, however, violence erupted when candidate Marc Ravalomanana claimed he had defeated longtime leader Didier Ratsiraka, who had ruled the African country since 1975. For several months, both men insisted they were presidentóa situation that endured until early July, when Ratsiraka finally fled to the nearby island of Seychelles on his way to permanent exile in France. But the street battles, in which at least 80 people were killed, have left the nationís fragile economy in shambles and damaged its international reputation for stability, said Zina Andrianarivelo-Razafy, Madagascarís ambassador to the United States. ìViolence is not part of our culture. We never had any record of civil war because even though th ere are 18 tribes in Madagascar, we have one and only one language, which is not the case in most of Africa,î he said, adding that ìwe are a charter member of the OAU [Organization of African Unity], and we feel African, although we have our own specific culture.î Andrianarivelo, 50, speaks Malagasy, French, English and some German, and has represented his country here since January 1999, when he arrived in Washington, D.C., with his wife Elise and their two sons, Rolland, now 11, and Alexandre, 7. He spoke to The Washington Diplomat during a lengthy interview at his countryís 15-person embassy, which fronts Massachusetts Avenue next to the Embassy of Paraguayó another poor nation engulfed in political turmoil. He said thereís no longer any question about whoís in charge back home. ìA reshuffled High Constitutional Court made a decision in March saying that Ravalomanana won in the first round of voting by 51.46 percent of the vote, and the United States a few days after that said it respected the rule of law in Madagascar and accepted the decision of the court,î he noted. On June 26, the U.S. ambassador to Madagascar, Wanda Nesbitt, officially recognized Ravalomanana as the countryís new president. Within a few weeks, Australia, France, Germany, Norway and Japan followed suit. In addition, several African countriesóled by Senegal, Mauritius and Burkina Fasoórecognize the new government, although the OAU (which recently renamed itself the African Union) does not. According to the ambassador, Togo, Gabon and Ethiopia still view Ratsiraka as being in charge because of what he calls ìinternal disagreementsî within the organization. Asked whom Andrianarivelo answers to, the diplomat answered carefully. ìAs a civil servant and respectful of the laws and the constitution of Madagascar, I recognize that Marc Ravalomanana was elected the new president.î With politics out of the way, Andrianarivelo said his priority is building upon the ìexcellentî ties that have flourished for over a century between the United States and Madagascar. ìOurs is an old friendship that dates back to the 18th century,î he said. ìThe peak of the relationship took place in March 1883, when an official Malagasy mission came here to sign a treaty of peace, friendship and trade.î At present, some 500 Malagasy (as the islandís inhabitants are known) live and work in the United States, while a similar number of Americansómainly Peace Corps volunteers, Mormon missionaries and U.S. Embassy staffersólive in Madagascar. ìToday, after six months of political crisis, the economy is down,î Andrianarivelo said, estimating per-capita income at only $250 a year. ìWe have a negative growth rate. But thanks to the help of our friendsóand the United States is among the most important of themówe hope weíll recover very quickly.î On July 26, a donor meeting is scheduled to take place in Paris, in which the new government is to present its plan of action for rehabilitating the economy. In 2000, the countryís gross domestic product grew by 4.8 percent, with expected growth of 6 percent in 2001 and 7 percent to 8 percent in 2002. But the political chaos changed everything. ìWe need billions of dollars,î said Andrianarivelo. ìThe bridges and roads have been destroyed, but Madagascar still has a lot of sympathy and credibility. We have a lot of potential in the mining, manufacturing and fishing industries.î Andrianarivelo said his credentials as a former businessman can only help him in his efforts to attract dollars to Madagascar. ìI come from the business world, so when I meet with potential investors, we can talk the same language,î said the ambassador. ìIím a new breed of diplomat in the United States, someone who was educated here, got a [master of business administration degree], went back home, and was very active in promoting the business relationship between the U.S. and Madagascar even before I was appointed to this position.î Andrianarivelo, who graduated from Ball State University in Indiana, is a former executive with HTR Enterprises Inc., an import-export business whose clients include John Deere, Caterpillar, Motorola, Cessna and other giants in the mining and telecommunications sectors. Heís a founding member of the Madagascar MBA Alumni Association and is currently trying to set up a U.S.-Madagascar Business Council to be based in Washington. Besides the embassy itself, Madagascar has honorary consulates in San Diego and Philadelphia. Additional consulates may soon open in San Francisco, Indianapolis and other cities as more money becomes available for investment promotion. Another bright spot is the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which was signed into law by the Clinton administration and which extends U.S. trade benefits to 35 African countries. ìMadagascar was among the first five countries to be eligible for AGOA,î said the ambassador. ìDuring the past few years, many corporations in the export processing zones of Mauritius have decided to take their production into Madagascar. Our labor costs are very competitive, and we have very skilled manpower. People learn very quickly anything thatís highly labor intensive, not only in the textile and garment industry, but also in data processing.î Among companies outsourcing apparel from Madagascar are The Limited, The Gap, Victoriaís Secret and Tommy Hilfiger. Besides AGOA, Madagascar is a member of Common Market For Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and belongs to the Commission of the Indian Ocean, which also includes the Seychelles, Mauritius, the Comoros Islands and the French overseas department of RÈunion. Businesswise, Madagascar certainly has potential. It is already the worldís largest vanilla exporter. Leading clients include Coca-Cola Co. and several ice cream manufacturers. The country also exports quartz and other semiprecious stones and is also trying to develop an ecotourism industry. Last year, some 150,000 tourists (including 1,500 Americans) visited Madagascar, which boasts thousands of species of animals and plants not found anywhere else on Earth. On the down side, Madagascar is far from the United States and Europe, and flights generally must go through Paris; a round-trip ticket between Washington and the capital city, Antananarivo, generally costs about $1,500 to $2,000. Investment has also suffered from a perception that Africa is corrupt and politically unstable in general. ìPersonally, Iíve never experienced corruption, but there is some,î Andrianarivelo noted. ìTransparency International [a global coalition against corruption] has a local office there. We donít appear in their rankings, thank God.î He added that ìwhat happened in Madagascar in the past few months has to be quickly forgotten because our work ethic is very good and the country can pick up very quickly.î Yet when asked if Madagascarís new leader will keep Andrianarivelo on as ambassador in Washington, the diplomat seemed far less confident. ìFrankly, I donít know,î he said. ìAppointing and recalling ambassadors is a privilege that belongs to the president alone.î Larry Luxner is a contributing writer to The Washington Diplomat.