Pakistan established multilateral and bilateral relations with countries in 2022, whereas at economic, strategic, diplomatic, and public levels, it continues to navigate the international system, given its dynamic and forward-looking foreign policy. Pakistan has numerous strengths from which to capitalize on its potential to achieve its objectives. Over the past entire, Pakistan was able to navigate the challenging global and regional political system where the
Pakistan has traditionally had a complex and multifaceted foreign policy. The country has maintained strong relationships with its neighbours, particularly China and Iran, and has also sought to build ties with other countries in the Middle East and beyond. Its location enables Islamabad to attract major regional powers while its Islamic identity organically attracts the Muslim world. Its cultural affinity and religious history with East and Southeast Asia is another leg of its strong diplomatic profile in Asia.
Pakistan was able to capitalize on its potential for diplomacy and pulled off a successful year on the diplomatic front. The engagement with major powers covering the US, China, and Russia, including but not limited to international organizations such as the European Union, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Pakistan secured two major feathers in its cap; getting out of FATF grey list and participating in Funds for Loss and Damage at COP 27 held in Egypt.
In the first quarter of 2022, former PM Imran Khan visited China and Russia to pursue his policy for diversifying diplomatic relations and exploring new avenues of cooperation. His agenda focused on energy security, infrastructure development, and security stability in Afghanistan. The change of government in Pakistan by the end of March 2022 did not impact the foreign office, albeit the delay of a few weeks in appointing the Foreign Secretary, the top bureaucrat in the Foreign Ministry.
Meanwhile, the new Foreign Minister, Bilawal Bhutto, resumed the pace of the former government in diplomatic engagements. His visits to the US, Europe, and the Middle East provided much-needed diversity to Pakistan in its foreign relations. FM Bilawal Bhutto extensively engaged with media and think tanks in Washington to explain Pakistan’s position on Climate Change, Security in Afghanistan, Extremism in India, and violence of Indian security forces in Kashmir.
Being the host country, Pakistan hosted the Secretary General of the United Nations, the Organization of Islamic Countries, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. It reflects the dynamic leadership in Pakistan and the consistency of engaging with foreign partners, including state actors and international organizations.
Pakistan is a responsible country that adheres to all the UN resolutions, respects international law, and active participation in multilateral platforms adhering to international norms. Pakistan is exceptionally dynamic in its diplomacy, but its maneuverability is restricted by slow economic growth. Pakistan released its National Security Policy 2022, a public-centric policy, shifting its focus from security to geo-economics. On the pretext of this policy, Pakistan is getting a broader audience worldwide due to its development-driven agenda.
The diplomatic engagement in the Middle East Region includes high-level engagements with UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Qatar, followed by Turkey. The high-level visits and exchanges with Central Asia covered engagement with Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan to promote mutual trust and good neighbourly relations. FM Bilawal Bhutto represented Pakistan at SCO Heads of Government Council in China to discuss regional and global issues.
The diplomatic engagement with East Asia has been another success story where high-level interactions with Indonesia and Singapore took place. Indonesia is the prime importing origin for palm oil, whereby the total trade with ASEAN hit a record $11 billion. It is worth mentioning here that Pakistan’s trade with ASEAN is not at par with the true potential of Pakistan, which can be increased further.
Africa is another important resource-rich but less developed region hosting potential commercial dividends. Pakistan recently began implementing the look Africa policy and opened five new missions in Africa. Covid-19 gave Pakistan an immense opportunity to boost trade and reinforce its diplomatic presence in Africa. Pakistan’s brotherly relationship with China provides the necessary environment for Pakistan in Africa due to the shared participation in Belt and Road Initiative.
It is essential to acknowledge that the diverse and ambitious foreign policy engagement of Pakistan enabled Pakistan to keep its economy running, manage the foreign exchange reserves, and bridge Current Account Deficit partly by direct deposits from friendly nations and partly by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The deep-rooted diplomatic engagement enabled Pakistan to convince the world of its stringent anti-terror financing mechanism to get out of FATF.
Islamabad’s cooperation with developing and climate-affected countries enabled Pakistan to lead the initiative of asking for compensation from the developed world. When COP 27 announced the Fund for Loss and Damage for climate-vulnerable nations and climate-induced disasters, Pakistan welcomed the initiative and termed it a ‘momentous achievement.’ It is worth mentioning here that the climate disasters faced by Pakistan are caused by global warming induced by developed economies, which provokes glacier melting in Pakistan, causing destructive floods.
These two outcomes qualify Pakistan for result-yielding foreign policy and diplomatic engagements along with three major powers, to say the least. Pakistan managed to invoke a balanced approach amid changing geopolitical dynamics in the region and beyond, especially with the release of the China-focused National Security and Indo-Pacific Strategies of the Biden Administration and hostile neighbourhood in the East. Pakistan has always managed to punch above its weight in the foreign policy domain ranging from assisting Sino-US rapprochement in the Cold War to balancing between China and the US. Today, diplomacy is governed and effectively backed by the economy as the potential leverage of bilateral and multilateral relationships lies in the economy. Pakistan needs to revisit its approach to focus on foreign policy that may help build Pakistan’s economic needs and retain its leverage and gradually move towards self-reliance.
The writer is the founder of the “Friends of BRI Forum”.