Imran in Davos

With nothing concrete on the table yet, we can only hope that these meetings lead to fruitful outcomes for Pakistan


Editorial January 24, 2020

Prime Minister Imran Khan’s meetings on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland have generated several interesting tidbits, but the biggest story was probably from his meeting with US President Donald Trump. Even before the meeting, Trump had made headlines in Pakistan by claiming that the US-Pakistan relationship had never been as strong as it is right now.

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that during the meeting, Trump assured Imran that he would be visiting Pakistan “soon”. The FM also said that the hour-long meeting between the two leaders was “very productive”, and that the topics discussed included US support against Pakistan’s potential blacklisting by the Financial Action Task Force, review of the current US travel advisory for Pakistan, Kashmir, and mutual trade issues. Imran apparently made clear Pakistan’s concerns regarding the increased tensions between Iran and the US, while also bringing up the peace negotiations in Afghanistan. Also of note was the fact that in a press talk just before meeting Imran, Trump once again brought up his offer to mediate in the Kashmir dispute, a proposal that has repeatedly been rejected by India.

But foreign relations weren’t the only thing that came up in Davos. It is, after all, an economic forum. Imran also met with several leaders from high-tech industries and pitched Pakistan as a potential investment destination for them. Siemens, YouTube, and SAP were just a few of the companies whose heads the prime minister spoke to. The head of software maker SAP was quoted by the Prime Minister’s Office as saying that the company was interested in training software engineers in Germany and then using them for software development in Pakistan at labs that could be established in the country. SAP already has a working relationship with Pakistan through its involvement in digitisation efforts in various departments. Siemens and YouTube’s heads also discussed similar efforts, albeit on a smaller scale. With nothing concrete on the table yet, we can only hope that these meetings lead to fruitful outcomes for Pakistan because the economy could really use some good news right about now.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 24th, 2020.

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