Pakistani FM Qureshi hints at shifting foreign policy from geopolitics to geoeconomics
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ISLAMABAD – Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said Pakistan has shifted its focus from geopolitics to geoeconomics amid a current escalation of strategic competition among global powers.
Addressing at Margalla Dialogue Forum in the country’s federal capital, Qureshi said Pakistan values its longstanding relationship with Washington and expect to continue it in line with Prime Minister Imran Khan’s vision.
The minister said that we are looking for multifaceted ties that were not susceptible to the vagaries of regional and international policies. “Recent strategic rivalry between the world powers has added to the nuances of global peace,” he said while emphasizing that the importance of geo-economics must be acknowledged.
He also mentioned that the future of a successful foreign policy depends on not repeating the strategic mistakes of the early 1990s.
Qureshi said the enhanced trade and investment ties with the US and cooperation with regards to regional connectivity can work to Pakistan’s mutual benefit.
The Foreign Minister spoke at length on various issues concerning Pakistan’s foreign policy and diplomacy including the humanitarian situation in war-torn Afghanistan. He reiterated that a dire humanitarian crisis is looming in Kabul and it has consequences for the region and beyond.
Qureshi mentioned the extraordinary session of the OIC to mobilize support for providing adequate food, medicine, and housing to millions of Afghans in dire distress. Pakistan continues to work at every level for a stable, peaceful, and prosperous regional future, he opined.
Referring to Indian atrocities in Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the ruling party minister said it was the duty of the UN and the international community to hold India accountable for the unconscionable state of affairs.
