Ishrat Hussain visits IRS

Islamabad:Adviser to the Prime Minister on Institutional Reforms and Austerity Dr Ishrat Hussain visited the Institute of Regional Studies (IRS) on Monday, says a press release.

IRS President former ambassador Nadeem Riyaz gave him a briefing about IRS. Nadeem Riyaz apprised the adviser to the Prime Minister about the recent initiatives taken at the Institute for further enhancing its efficiency and role in giving policy input.

Riyaz informed Dr Hussain that alongside its other regular academic publications, IRS had also started a policy paper series including shorter policy-relevant write-ups either on demand or on any contemporary issue of national importance within the scope of IRS research.

Elaborating on the scope of IRS research Riyaz shared that IRS conducted research primarily on the neighbourhood of Pakistan, which includes member countries of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) as well as China and Iran. Ambassador Riyaz also briefed Dr Hussain on the process initiated for reviving and further enhancing the institutional linkages of IRS with other think tanks within the country and abroad.

Dr Hussain urged IRS researcher to produce quality research on South Asia. He was of the view that there was a dearth of quality research on South Asia in Pakistan. He also urged IRS researchers to conduct research on South Asian countries from different perspectives and not just from an international relations perspective. He further stated that research was not just a bureaucratic endeavour but an exercise in creativity, which required a passion for learning and exploration.

Dr Hussain was highly appreciative of IRS research, including its one-of-a-kind newspaper archives. He urged IRS to expedite the digitization process of the newspaper archives of IRS.