Call for stronger ties with African nations

Islamabad : It’s an opportune time for Pakistan to give due attention to developing relations with all African countries ignored so far, especially in the central African region, in foreign policy through a clear strategy, an informed approach, and a consistent programme with a strong focus on the private sector supported by the public sector.

This was the crux of the observations made by experts during a roundtable organised on 'Central Africa: An Untapped Region, Prospects and Challenges' by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), Islamabad, under its Understanding Africa Programme.

Former ambassador Imran Yawar was the key speaker at the discussion moderated by Dr. Saif Malik, a senior research fellow at IPS, while IPS chairman Khalid Rahman, vice-chairman Syed Abrar Hussain, former ambassador Tanveer Akhtar Khaskheli, member of the IPS-National Academic Council Prof. Dr. Anwarul Hassan Gilani and former ambassador Salahuddin Choudhry also highlighted their thoughts on the topic.

The speakers underscored the need to forge a foreign relations policy, based on multi-sectoral connectivity and the facilitation of interactions between business-to-business and people-to-people between African states and Pakistan.

Mr. Yawar said the contributions of Pakistan in the decolonization of many African states and the UN peacekeeping missions in the African continent have created immense goodwill for Pakistan over the years but unfortunately, Pakistan has not been able to capitalize on it, largely because of an Africa-blind mindset at the policy level.

He added that the murky outlook had predominantly prevailed because of the eminence of challenges that mask the potential and prospects of Africa, the world’s richest continent.

"Central Africa is one such region which is the continent’s least cohesive, least developed, and least stable part. Leadership and governance failures, interstate and intrastate conflicts, the influence of foreign actors, and humanitarian issues are the main interwoven challenges that foster instability and hinder the socio-political and economic progress of the region," he added.

The former envoy said Pakistan should shed its narrow perspective of Africa, which has prevented it from benefiting from its already existing goodwill and potential in the region that presents a lot of opportunities for investments in various sectors.

He said Pakistan’s policy approach should be based on furtherance of leadership diplomacy, multi-sectoral connectivity, interaction and visibility, proper diplomatic presence, parliamentary exchanges, and consistency to tap into the goodwill and potential in Central Africa and Africa as a whole, while also taking into account the global governance issues.

"Foreign policies and initiatives must be developed with a consistent vision and concrete outlook to engage with Africa meaningfully. Moreover, in order to shift the mindset, efforts are required at multiple levels involving the role of media, top-notch leadership, academicians, and think tanks. Awareness at the grassroots level is equally necessary to change the myopic mindset regarding the African continent," he said.

Mr Khalid Rahman said Pakistan’s policy approach should be based on furtherance of leadership diplomacy, multi-sectoral connectivity, interaction and visibility, proper diplomatic presence, parliamentary exchanges, and consistency to tap into the goodwill and potential in Central Africa and Africa as a whole, while also taking into account the global governance issues.

"Foreign policies and initiatives must be developed with a consistent vision and concrete outlook to engage with Africa meaningfully. Moreover, in order to shift the mindset, efforts are required at multiple levels involving the role of media, top-notch leadership, academicians, and think tanks. Awareness at the grassroots level is equally necessary to change the myopic mindset regarding the African continent," he said.

The IPS chairman said the prevalent scenarios also presented an opportunity for a comprehensible common strategy about the global governance issues, which were common to Africa and Pakistan.