The Karachi Council on Foreign Relations (KCFR) organised an interactive session on "The South Asian Conundrum between Geopolitics and Geo-Economics" with renowned French researcher and scholar Professor Jean-Luc Racine on Sunday. Professor Racine is CNRS Senior Fellow, Centre for South Asian Studies at the School for Advanced Studies in Social Sciences, Paris, and Associate Fellow at the Asia Centre at Sciences-Po, Paris.
His research is focused on two key issues including the geopolitics of South Asia, particularly India-Pakistan relations and the foreign and security policy (particularly India's relations with key powers and with other emerging countries). He teaches South Asia geopolitics at the French Institute for Geopolitics, Paris 8 University and India's political economy at the School for Advanced Studies in Social Sciences, Paris.
Liaqat H. Merchant, chairman, KCFR while welcoming the speaker said that Professor Racine has lectured for five years (2002-2007) on India, Pakistan and Afghanistan at Nato Defence College, Roma, besides speaking on South Asian affairs at Columbia University (South Asia Institute), Johns Hopkins University (School for Advanced International Studies), Woodrow Wilson Center and Brookings Institution, Washington, D.C. Berkeley University, Moscow, Tokyo, Beijing University (Pakistan Studies Centre), Hong Kong, Oxford, Prague, Madrid, Islamabad, New Delhi, Dhaka and Kathmandu.
Professor Racine in his speech shared his thoughts on the issue. He spoke about the differences between Pakistan and India over various issues. Ahsan Mukhtar Zubairi also spoke on the occasion and thanked the speaker. He also presented some publications of KCFR to Professor Racine.