Curtain Raiser
ISSI Holding International Conference on
“Navigating Peace & Security in the Region & Beyond: Pakistan’s Role”
5-6 October 2023
The Centre for Afghanistan, Middle East and Africa (CAMEA) at the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI), in collaboration with the United States Institute for Peace (USIP), is holding an International Conference on “Navigating Peace & Security in the Region & Beyond: Pakistan’s Role” on 5-6 October 2023.
The Conference is aimed at undertaking a strategic scan of the developments at the international level and in the adjoining regions of Pakistan. Today’s world situation, as is quite evident, continues to be marked by extreme fluidity and even volatility in many places. Major-power competition, war, active and simmering military conflicts, trans-national terrorism, aftermath of pandemic, economic downturn, unresolved disputes, the existential threat of climate change, and a looming population explosion are but a few illustrations of what countries across the globe are faced with. A visibly evolving global order, with its attendant consequences, is throwing up new challenges and making the quest for stability a strategic imperative. Regardless of their size or stature, nations recognize the compelling necessity and desirability of adhering to established international norms and fostering cooperative frameworks. Pakistan is no exception.
Besides, Pakistan’s pivotal geographic location places it at the crossroads of vast geo-economic opportunities, including connectivity, trade and energy flows, and developmental partnerships. As it tackles the complex geo-strategic landscape, and accentuates its own pivot to geo-economics, Pakistan has before it a range of opportunities in the political, diplomatic and economic domains, which it must seize and actualize with active and innovative external engagement.
Within this backdrop, the ISSI (CAMEA) in collaboration with USIP, is bringing together a group of eminent national and international speakers, academics and thought leaders to delve deeper into the various facets of changing global dynamics and the role Pakistan can play in navigating peace and security in the region and beyond. The Conference will also explore the opportunities for Pakistan and the United States to find new vistas for bilateral cooperation as well as collaboration on regional and international issues of mutual interest.
The inaugural session of the Conference will be held on 5 October, featuring Remarks by DG ISSI Ambassador Sohail Mahmood and Vice President USIP Dr. Andrew Wilder and a Keynote Address by Special Representative for Afghanistan Ambassador Asif Durrani. The various Working Sessions would focus on Afghanistan, the Middle East, Pakistan-U.S. relations, innovative approaches to non-traditional security challenges, global perspectives on regional peace and security, and cooperation on counter-terrorism. The Conference will conclude on 6 October 2023.
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