Welcome moves

The subtle gavotte that is the dance of international relations has brought some cheer to Islamabad, with the visit by the new Sri Lankan president bringing some welcome good news on the foreign policy front. President Maithripala Sirisena came to power in January, and is very much a ‘new broom’. Sri Lanka is still in recovery after a crippling civil war, but tourism is resurgent and the economy is in good shape. It needs to modernise its power generation infrastructure, and to that end the agreement signed in relation to atomic energy will see the island nation build its first nuclear power station. Interestingly, Sri Lanka has also signed a similar agreement with India in February, and it is not inconceivable that Pakistan and India may find themselves working if not side by side then at least on the same page of nuclear developments in Sri Lanka.

Of the other five agreements signed, they are a mix of ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ sectors — sports and education are areas where mutual cooperation is relatively easily facilitated, but disaster management, socioeconomic development and narcotics control are all areas less well trod in our relations with Sri Lanka. Shipping is another area where a profitable collaboration may be had. It is a strategically important state if only by virtue of its geographic location off the southwestern tip of the Indian subcontinent, and it is now reaching out to a variety of international partners, not all of which find favour with India, which has viewed Chinese influence in Sri Lanka with unease. Despite being several hours flight away, Sri Lanka is very much ‘in our neighbourhood’ and with the regional churn triggered by the American pivot towards the Pacific now well under way, it makes good sense to service essential international partnerships. Pakistan and Sri Lanka have long enjoyed good relations, particularly on the military front and the time is ripe to capitalise on that. Some friendships are infinitely more easily cultivated than others, and parliament is unlikely to find itself troubled by an uptick in relations with Sri Lanka.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 8^th,  2015.

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