ISLAMABAD – Dr Sayed Kazem Sajjadpour, the president of Iranian think-tankInstitute for Political and International Studies (IPIS), identifiedeconomy and diplomacy as two key areas to immediately focus upon.
Sajjadpour was sharing his views while addressing a session titled ‘CurrentGeo-Strategic Dynamics: A Perspective from Iran’ which was held at theInstitute of Policy Studies (IPS), Islamabad on Friday. He was heading adelegation from his institution while visiting IPS as part of a memorandumof understanding signed between the two think tanks in 2016 with a view tocarry out joint studies and conferences on regional issues and fosteringdialogue among scholars, experts and policy makers of the two countries.
Sajjadpour, who termed strong ties between Iran and Pakistan crucial forregional stability, said that the international politics was evolving at arapid pace and the power corridors were beginning to switch from a unipolarhegemony to multipolar entities. The phenomenon, in the view of speaker,was furnishing more space for regional players, who too now had a greaterrole to play in shaping their regional scenario.
Elaborating the notion, Sajjadpour pointed that Iran and Pakistan were veryimportant countries in South Asia without involving whom the regionalissues would not be resolved. He then stressed on the need of increasedcooperation between Iran and Pakistan, stating that the development wouldnot only benefit the two countries directly but will also play a vital rolein ensuring regional peace and stability.
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On the question of Iran’s growing relations with India, Sajjadpourexplained that the relations between the two countries were never and willnever be a bond against Pakistan. He backed his argument presenting theexample of Iranian Chabahar port, the development of which according tohim, was not supposed to undermine or compete with Pakistan’s Gwadar portat any length. The two ports, he said, would in fact be better offcomplementing each other instead of competing, as such a scenario will onlyboast a win-win situation for all the stakeholders.
Speaking of the US’ role in South Asia, the Iranian intellectual said thatIran and Pakistan have suffered immensely at the hands of the USdomination, and the sectarian politics and divide in Iran was just oneexample of the global power’s interference in the region. He said thatIran, like Pakistan, wants to establish peaceful relations with everycountry, but it was time for both Tehran and Islamabad to start takingtheir own decisions suiting their own interests instead of letting anyoneelse set the rules of game for them.
