ISLAMABAD - The Centre for Afghanistan, Middle East and Africa (CAMEA) at the Institute of Strategic Studies (ISSI), in collaboration with the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), hosted a one-day international conference on “Pakistan’s Strategic Frontiers: Adapting to Evolving Global Trends,” here on Friday.
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khan, Foreign Secretary of Pakistan Dr Asad Majeed Khan, Director General ISSI, Ambassador Sohail Mahmood, Director CAMEA Amina Khan and Dr Niels Hegewisch, Country Director FES spoke in the inaugural session, said a press release.
The conference was divided into three working sessions: Evolving Dynamics in Afghanistan; Evolving Situation in the Middle East; and Emerging Non-Traditional Security Threats in Afghanistan, Central Asia & the Middle East.
Hina Rabbani Khar, in her keynote video address, stated that Pakistan, owing to its geographical location, is placed at the center of evolving global power dynamics and increasingly complex interplay between traditional and nontraditional foreign policy actors.
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She went on to say that globalization, interdependencies of economies and challenges of climate change and public health, water, energy and food security are compelling factors for win-win approaches. However, she regretted that Geopolitics continues to influence interstate relations.
She added that manipulation of interdependencies for geopolitics runs against the spirit of win-win cooperation that has been the hallmark of globalization for the last many decades and it is against the backdrop of these parallel global trends that Pakistan today has to define its interest.
Foreign Secretary Dr Asad Majeed Khan said the global transformations necessitate newer approaches for Pakistan. In the contemporary international politics, economic interdependencies, investment, trade, energy, connectivity are shapers and drivers of interstate relations.
He went on to say that, in parallel, we are witnessing new geopolitical contestations, competition for influence, resources and dominance in the domain of technology. Pakistan has to navigate similar competing trends and Pakistan’s location also keeps it at the flashpoint of conflict.
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