The Centre for South Asian Studies (CSAS), University of the Punjab Lahore, in collaboration with Center of Pakistan & International Relations (COPAIR), Islamabad organized a Webinar on "Pak-US Relations & Future of Economic Stability", on January 14, 2025. Mr. Faheem Sardar, Senior Policy Specialist at Strategic Policy Planning Cell, National Security Division, Government of Pakistan was the Keynote Speaker. Mr. Faheem said that Pak-US relationship has a long history. He started the discussion by stressing on Geo-politics, terrorism & economy. He spoke about 4 Countries and One region particularly. The Speaker explained that 1) China is the economic Superpower of contemporary times and one cannot overlook China when it comes to economic debate. 2) India and the US have strong strategic alliances. Since 1980’s, the US had been supporting India as the latter wanted to contain China and Pakistan. 3) Talking about Afghanistan, the Speaker said that owing to the presence of Daesh and ISIS, the region is again facing the menace of terrorism that might lead to any confrontation. He was of the view that rather than fighting an Idea, there is a need to adopt a strategic operational idea. 4) Mr. Faheem said that Bangladesh and Pakistan share the same history. In the Post-Hasina scenario, Bangladesh has slightly shown a harder stance which is favourable for Pakistan and China. He also talked about the African Region where Pakistan has been actively focusing for the last three years.
The Speaker said that the US is the largest export destination of Pakistan, which is the 5th most populated country in the world. He suggested key points for the future economic stability of Pakistan which can be critical for the country, i-e; Specific Objective Setting, Policy Stability & Stable Policy Structure, Export-Oriented Trade and moving away from dependency, Institute our minds to reduce dependency on loans by Superpowers, Focusing away from traditional market and export. Mr. Faheem said that the Country needs to contact the US Chamber of Business & Commerce in order to increase the export capacity. The session was followed by Q & A.