James Spillane
Indian diplomacy has been applauded in a recent show of quick diplomacy on Twitter involving England cricketer and IPL Delhi Daredevils batsman, Kevin Pietersen. Earlier on Monday, the cricketer had tweeted asking for help from the official Twitter account of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the Indian Diplomacy account about his passport being held at the Indian Embassy for the past 10 days, for a 24 hour service, and that he needed to travel to India on an urgent basis.
MEA’s official spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin tweeted back to Kevin about the requirement of necessary approval from the Union Sports Ministry. This was soon followed by a reassuring tweet to the cricketer that the Indian Embassy in the United Kingdom will soon grant visa to Pietersen as they have received necessary clearance from the Union Sports Ministry.
Having received his passport, the happy cricketer posted a picture of him sporting a cap and holding the passport in between his lips.
. @KP24 Event requires approval of Sports Ministry. Mission will give Visa promptly once organisers of event obtain necessary approval.
— Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) March 10, 2014
. @KP24 Good news. Twiplomacy works!! Necessary clearance just received from Sports Ministry. Mission to grant visa soon. C u in India soon
— Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) March 10, 2014
It's arrived! Thank you @MEAIndia! Always happier when I have my passport! pic.twitter.com/wASSPbQk29
— KP (@KP24) March 11, 2014
The news caught on fast with major dailies covering the story. The official Twitter account of Indian Public Diplomacy has tweeted a visual mashup of all the headlines calling it as a snapshot of India’s Twiplomacy at work.
#India's Twiplomacy at work, a snapshot @MEAIndia @KP24 @twitter @TwitterIndia @TwitterSports #digitaldiplomacy pic.twitter.com/JpulbOyQWs
— Indian Diplomacy (@IndianDiplomacy) March 11, 2014
While Twitter users have appreciated the fast action, some others have complained about facing hurdles in their passport renewal. Nevertheless, we know for sure that Twitter diplomacy works. Now, if only this kind of fast treatment was meted out to every one travelling to India, and having their issues resolved through Twitter!
This article was written for Business 2 Community by James Spillane.
Learn how to publish your content on B2C
Join our Telegram channel to stay up to date on breaking news coverage
Add B2C to your Google News Feed
Comments on this article are closed.