- Says Pakistan does’t want mere transactional relationship with the US
ISLAMABAD: With the intensification of competition between established and emerging powers, that has made world peace fragile and the direction of diplomacy unpredictable, Pakistan has made a strategic pivot from geopolitics to geoeconomics, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said Tuesday.
“From now on, our foreign policy will emphasise geoeconomics,” he said while speaking at the Margalla Dialogue 2021 organised by the Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI).
Decades of bartering Pakistan’s geostrategic value — including as a front-line state in the Cold War and the War on Terror after the deadly 9/11 attacks — has contributed to the loss of countless lives, stifled development, and turned the country into a heavily indebted security state.
Geoeconomics, the officialdom argues, would flip that script. Recent speeches of top officials in both civil and military spheres offer a “geo-economic vision” that centres on regional integration and the collective pursuit of sustainable development in an environment of peace and stability.
In his rather candid address, the foreign minister spoke at length on various issues including Islamabad’s foreign policy, the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, ties with China, the United States, Russia and India as well as the importance of resolution of Kashmir dispute for lasting peace.
“Indeed, we live in times of uncertainty. The world order seems in a state of severe stress and disarray. In these times foreign policy and Geo Politics is largely linked to geo-economics. I have consistently maintained, from here on, the economy is in many ways our strategic compass with a dominant presence as a priority of foreign policy,” Qureshi remarked.
The foreign minister said that positioning Pakistan as a geo-economic centre with unparalleled regional connectivity has to come as a mindset top-down.
“We have had to reset the existing geopolitical mindset and embrace the importance of geoeconomics,” he added.
Qureshi observed that as Pakistan was the fifth most populous nation, with 220 million people, 64 percent of its population was below the age of 30, and according to estimates by Forbes and UNDP, approximately 80 million belonged to the middle class.
“We need to tap into this growing human capital and our abundant natural resources,” he stressed.
The foreign minister, highlighting the benefits of a focus on geo-economics, shared with the audience that as of November, Pakistan’s exports to the UK had grown 28 percent that too in a year marred by coronavirus pandemic.
“Also, since our Engage Africa Conference in December 2019 in Islamabad, trade with Africa has gone up 7 percent,” he mentioned.
The foreign minister said that according to Bloomberg, this year alone $300 million have been invested in start-ups in Pakistan by investors in the US, Singapore, and UAE.
“This is a modest beginning with a huge surge expected in the tech industry in the near future,” he added.
Qureshi referred to the “FM Honours list” he launched in 2019 and said it was to recognise Pakistan nationals living abroad for their tremendous contributions through technology and the digital landscape etc.
“Make no mistake, our diaspora plays a huge role in representing Pakistan’s policy interests across the globe,” he observed.
The foreign minister said that connecting the economy with the future of foreign policy brought him to a critical tool of modern diplomacy: the digital sphere.
“Big Tech, by amassing and monopolising data, is outgrowing capitalism as we know it […] by redesigning supply chains, virtual reality and the way we think and live.”
“It is data control that is influencing mindsets, controlling narratives and ultimately, crafting the perception game. Staying connected, staying ahead and staying alert in the digital space is of paramount importance to achieving foreign policy goals,” he added.
‘DIGITAL ALLIANCES’
The foreign minister said there was no doubt that Covid had accelerated the digital diplomacy trajectory.
“Diplomacy is no more singularly reliant on leadership to leadership telephone calls or state visits. Technology has never before played such a definitive role in relationships,” he remarked.
Qureshi said that bilateral, political consultations, multilateral conferences were all happening online.
“Today, perception wars are won, and lost, on Twitter. So what better place for diplomacy than online where you use fewer resources to achieve even greater outcomes in shorter amounts of time,” he added.
The foreign minister said the Foreign Office had very clearly prioritised digital alliances, entering for instance as a founding member of Saudi-led Digital Cooperation Organisation (DCO) in record time.
“In fact, four top professionals from Pakistan have joined the organization’s secretariat in Riyadh, in leadership positions. This is an important first step towards linking digital diplomacy with the digital economy for the future of foreign policy,” he added.
The foreign minister said that in the same spirit, just two weeks ago, the government partnered with Telenor to launch an agri-tech application that connected over 10,000 farmers across Pakistan to optimise their production and in turn the exports.
“Such is the nature of the digital economy. These revolutionary scientific changes are already impacting war and peace, climate change, our economies, our geopolitics, and our ways of life,” he remarked.
TIES WITH CHINA, US
Speaking about the future of foreign policy and the role geo-economics was playing, Foreign Minister Qureshi mentioned Pakistan’s relations with China as resilient and poised to grow further.
“The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), of which the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a flagship project, will leverage economic geography and connectivity of the three contiguous continents — Asia, Europe and Africa — ushering in prosperity for all global citizens,” he added.
The foreign minister said that Pakistan valued its longstanding relations with the United States.
He, however, added that looking towards the future, Pakistan did not want a mere transactional relationship with the US. Rather “we want multifaceted ties that are not susceptible to the vagaries of regional and international policies”, he added.
He said that in line with the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan for a shift from geopolitics to geo-economics, Pakistan wanted a relationship with the US that was in sync with our updated priorities.
“Enhanced trade and investment ties with the US and cooperation in regard to regional connectivity can work to our mutual benefit,” he added.
The foreign minister said that with Russia, Pakistan’s diplomatic outreach had not only led to a rapprochement but opened doors for reinvigorated relations in the security and economic realms.
“The Pakistan-Russia trajectory is contributing to stability in the region and we will continue to strengthen it,” he maintained.
Qureshi said: “The upshot is that a country like Pakistan sitting astride the crossroads of South, Central and West Asia cannot make binary choices. We will remain equidistant, accessible to all, reaching out to all.”
‘AFGHANISTAN FACING STARVATION’
“And, directly connected to all this, is the situation in Afghanistan,” he said, adding the United Nations has warned that 60 percent of Afghanistan’s 38 million people were facing hunger or starvation.
“There is a dire humanitarian crisis looming which has consequences not only for the people of Afghanistan but indeed us as neighbours, the region and beyond,” the foreign minister said.
With this in mind, on December 19, Pakistan will host a session of the Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to mobilise support for providing adequate food, medicine and housing to millions of Afghans in distress.
“Indeed! I believe Pakistan hosting the OIC Extraordinary Meeting of Foreign Ministers on Afghanistan is in line with the leadership role the country has demonstrated in the region,” he added.
He said that from facilitating peace talks, to showing tremendous leadership across unprecedented rescue and evacuations, to working closely with international partners for humanitarian outreach and bringing together neighbouring countries of Afghanistan and International stakeholders for a coordinated approach, Pakistan continues to work at every level for a stable, peaceful and prosperous regional future.
“We also continue to host over 4 million Afghan refugees. We have advocated and worked for the establishment of an inclusive polity in Afghanistan, respecting the rights of all ethnic and religious minorities as well as of women,” he added.
The foreign minister said the Afghan Government has assured all its neighbours that their soil will not be allowed to be used for terrorism, adding the same message has been given by Kabul to extra-regional powers.
“The future of successful foreign policy hinges then on not repeating the strategic blunder of the early 1990s that led to a spate of civil wars, drought and terrorism, whose consequences we have been facing for the past 30 years. The world must learn from their mistakes,” he stressed.
INDIA CONUNDRUM
Speaking about the foreign policy challenges vis-à-vis India, the foreign minister said that Pakistan’s quest for peace and geo-economic strength cannot be a solo performance. “It takes two to tango.”
He recalled that soon after taking office, the incumbent government made overture after overture to open channels of communication, to build confidence and to engage India.
“Our eastern neighbour, however, chose to close all doors on any kind of talks. What’s more, it took the most drastic militaristic steps to invade and lay siege to the disputed territory of the occupied Kashmir, disenfranchising its 14 million people and brutalise them,” he added.
The foreign minister said that New Delhi’s actions in the occupied region have created a conundrum for India apologists in Kashmir and even for her foreign friends.
“Indian atrocities are too egregious to be masked by the veneer of secularism and democratic pretensions,” he observed.
The foreign minister said it was the duty of the United Nations and the international community to hold India accountable for this unconscionable state of affairs.
“India must realise that without resolving the Kashmir issue we cannot free the peoples of South Asia from perennial instability. Without the necessary global condemnation and intervention, the region will continue to remain insecure and peace and prosperity, a major challenge,” he maintained.
‘COVID-19 FAR FROM OVER’
The foreign minister said as the developed and developing countries were all vulnerable to the devastations of the global pandemic, Pakistan has done well in beating the coronavirus by using a mix of smart lockdowns and aggressive vaccination campaigns.
“The threat is far from over. Omicron — the new mutant — casts its ominous shadow and we are bracing for fighting it. Each nation must play its part individually and communally to fight a virus that knows no boundaries: we are all equally vulnerable,” he added.
CLIMATE THREAT IS ‘RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW’
The foreign minister said the same was the case with climate change, which affected everyone without discrimination. “Pakistan walks the extra mile to meet climate change goals because it is a compelling national priority,” he added.
He said the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and World Bank have forecast that Pakistan will incur up to $3.8 billion annually due to the rise in temperatures in the next two decades.
“Last month, at the COP26 summit, Pakistan unveiled its Ecosystem Restoration Initiative (ESR), with the support of the World Bank. At the Summit, Pakistan also signed the Global Methane Pledge,” he added.
He said that Prime Minister Khan’s vision and roadmap for the Billion Tree Tsunami and Clean Green Pakistan programmes will go a long way in making Pakistan a model country to combat climate change and its iimpact.
INTERFAITH HARMONY
He mentioned Pakistan’s significant efforts into promoting interfaith harmony and tolerance, adding the prime minister had alerted the world continues at the highest forums about the threat posed to world peace by Islamophobia and misguided notions of racial superiority.
“True to our commitment, we sponsored a resolution at 47th OIC Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in Niamey in 2020. The resolution inter-alia called for a declaration of March 15 as the International Day to combat Islamophobia,” he added.
The Foreign Minister asserted that diplomacy in the 21st century, in a post-Covid world, needed a multi-faceted outlook and one that goes beyond the traditional.
“One that is cognisant of a world where relationships are changing based on geoeconomics, access and the use of technology and people to people contact, made all the more accessible with digital growth” he added.
The foreign minister, however, said the multi-dimensional outlook and approach will open new vistas for Pakistan’s footprint across the world, enabling it to assume a leadership position in addressing the challenges of a changing geopolitical landscape.
