Most of the conversation in the world has imagined Pakistan as a country associated with traditional security. The Prime Minister’s vision for Pakistan is based on an economic security and human welfare paradigm. The economic security vision has three pillars: connectivity, development partnerships and peace within the region and beyond. These views were expressed by the SAPM on National Security Division and Strategic Policy Planning, Dr. Moeed Yusuf, during his keynote address in a webinar titled “Economic Outreach Initiatives and Non-Traditional Security Threats Facing Pakistan.”
Dr Yusuf said that connectivity is a key objective and that is why Pakistan is so focused on CPEC and peace in Afghanistan. When it comes to development partnerships, the dream is for Pakistan to become a melting pot, a hub of interdependence for positive global economic interests. Dr. Moeed Yusuf stressed that Pakistan must shift to a model in which economic leverage can be used for political gains and vice versa. The future lies in coordinating economic diplomacy, he maintained. During the discussion, Dr Yusuf explained that economic security and military security are intertwined, and one cannot be pursued at the expense of the other. He outlined the Government’s approach that aims to increase the national resource pie so that the military, in his view grossly under resourced, can be funded generously.
Explaining the objective of the Economic Outreach Initiative (EOI) being led by the PM, Dr. Yusuf said that the aim is maximize Pakistan’s potential and increase dollar inflows. He said the exercise had identified an additional $30 plus billion potential of foreign exchange earnings. The SAPM was of the view that Pakistan is looking forward to working with the Biden administration. But our main effort is to change the nature of the conversation with the US, and it will be centered on Pakistan being an economic base to maximize our economic potential.