Focus on economic diplomacy

In the modern age, foreign policy of a country is usually geared to achieve economic objectives for the welfare of its citizens. Realisation of the importance of a closer link between the two on the part of present Pakistan government could only be termed as a timely development and is indeed welcome.
Addressing the members of Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry on 28th August, Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri stressed the point that the foreign policy of Pakistan was now essentially shaped and underpinned by national security concerns and also well-being of the people. Within these parameters, Pakistan's primary objective was to safeguard country's independence and to strive for political, economic and trade relations with other countries.
The government was working to develop trade corridors to leverage and benefit from the country's strategic location. The concept of National Trade Corridor, which aimed at upgrading and expanding our rail, road, air and port networks, would serve as the gateway for access of goods and services, as well as a convenient transit route for other countries to the Central Asian markets. Pakistan had the potential to become the hub of cooperation for energy, trade and tourism.
Elaborating on the theme, the Foreign Minister added that emerging international trade and economic dispensation, influenced in several different ways by the process of globalisation, presents both opportunities as well as challenges to developing countries.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Pakistani missions abroad were active partners in the government effort leading to economic revival of Pakistan, doubling of the economy and a phenomenal increase in exports. Foreign investment and remittances have also increased tremendously. A continued proactive economic diplomatic engagement was essential as the thrust of international relations was shifting from geo-politics to geo-economics.
In our view, what the Foreign Minister has said makes a lot of sense and is a welcome departure from the old policy of using foreign policy mainly as an instrument to safeguard country's sovereignty and achieve other political strategic objectives.
In a more narrow sense, foreign policy in the past concentrated largely on the issue of Kashmir, purchase of the latest weaponry to protect ourselves against a neighbouring country and maintenance of friendly relations with other countries to defend our position at crucial times.
Such a strategy was based more on an historical perspective rather than on economic imperatives of the country and was partly responsible for the lack of economic development, underemployment of natural resources and poor state of infrastructure.
Thankfully, the present government realised the folly of this approach and from the very beginning tried to change the overall direction without, however, sacrificing the vital foreign policy interests of the country.
The opening of negotiations with India and a sudden foreign policy reversal after the 9/11 events, though costly in political terms on domestic front, were meant to reduce the tensions and chances of an open conflict, to rehabilitate a mismanaged economy and accelerate economic development largely through the inflow of foreign funds.
The Ministry of Commerce has been particularly active in promoting exports to various countries, including EU, through various initiatives and a close relationship has all along been maintained with multilateral financial institutions and other donors.
The sale of Sukuk bonds and GDRs on favourable terms in the international market is an indication of renewed confidence in the solvency of the country. The gas pipeline from Iran, opposed by USA, seems to be a real possibility now as a result of successful diplomacy. Foreign investment, though still low in absolute terms, is increasing at a fast pace.
The emphasis on economic development by various organs of the state is reflected in higher growth rate, comfortable level of foreign exchange reserves of the country, etc. Hopefully, these economic gains would, with the right mix of policies, also translate into higher standards of living for a vast majority of population in the not too distant future.
The present government, despite certain weaknesses, definitely deserves credit for making economic objectives a priority and trying to achieve them through all the means, including the use of foreign diplomacy. The use of such a strategy, of course, needs to be continued by the next government because the country is not, as yet, at an advanced stage of development and people of Pakistan, in general, seem to prefer a better economic future to wasting energy and resources on chasing shadows.