Sri Lankan Ambassador conducts international seminar on “Strategic Negotiations” at Hanoi Business School

Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Vietnam, Prof. A Saj U. Mendis, was invited by the Viet Nam National University Hanoi Business School (HSB)  to deliver a special lecture on “International Strategic Negotiations” to senior faculty members and graduate students of HSB in Hanoi. The select seminar was attended by nearly 100 chosen graduate students and faculty members. The seminar was chaired by Dr. Mai Viet Dzung, the Science and Development Cooperation Department Head and senior faculty of HSB. 

In his opening remarks Dr. Dzung said today negotiation skills, whether bilateral, trilateral or multilateral; national or international have become an inherent and intrinsic attribute and skill for advancement, promotion, augmentation and marketability as well as value addition to any given entity or organisation. Negotiations are an imperative skill not only for diplomats but also for corporate captains, CEOs, entrepreneurs, and political leaders in disciplines and trades ranging from finance and banking, manufacturing, services, education, shipping and aviation, government to IT and ITES, among others. 

Ambassador Mendis, in his address on international strategic negotiations highlighted a myriad of negotiations including but not limited to Leverage Buy-Outs (LBOs), negotiations with unions, contract and sales, remuneration, promotions and emoluments as well as negotiation process, strategies and techniques, among others. Prof. Mendis cited numerous examples of internationally known and respected authorities on negotiations and the techniques and tactics employed and implemented by them in conducting highly productive and mutually beneficial negotiations, thus deriving and engendering favourable results and outcomes to their institutes, entities, corporate or nations respectively. 

A key factor that Prof Mendis enunciated to the faculty and students of HSB was to extend and invest the maximal possible due diligence, effort and labour on research and analysis, before commencement of any given negotiation. He added that most, even seasoned negotiators tend to overlook this fact that is seminally critical in negotiations. Prof Mendis underscored several shortcomings, fallacies, flaws and miscalculations that people commit during negotiations including in some of the most critical and pivotal negotiations. He added a list of techniques on how to recognise, distinguish and identify such flaws in order to avert them. The premise and thesis of the negotiation seminar of Prof Mendis was that “anything in the world could be negotiated as long as it is a product of negotiations”. In other words, anything that is being negotiated before reaching the final product, figure or outcome, can be negotiated. This could be attained by employing and executing the most pertinent and efficacious skill-sets, techniques and strategies, he said. 

After the seminar a Q&A session took place and many participants posed questions as well as comments to the speaker. 

Ambassador Prof. Mendis has specialised on corporate and strategic negotiations and earned his Ph.D. in International Economics from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi and is a visiting faculty/guest lecturer/ professor/examiner in several academic institutions and universities of repute in both postgraduate and Ph.D. programs.