Geographical pre-eminence and regionalism

Pakistan holds an important geo-strategic location and shares its borders with four countries i.e., India, China, Afghanistan, and Iran. Its geographical location serves as a natural conduit for the energy corridor between the south and central Asian countries. Pakistan’s short distance from the Persian Gulf where almost half of the world’s oil business takes place compelled China to connect with Pakistan through the Gwadar port under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). This geostrategic and geoeconomic pre-eminence has allowed Pakistan to gain memberships of the Shanghai cooperation organisation (SCO), South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), and D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation (D-8), and Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO).

Regionalism is crucial for development as it focuses on economic exchange between countries of the same region or economic zone. In 2001, the SCO was founded by Russia, China, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan. It was later expanded to include Pakistan and India as well. SCO’s immediate function was to fight religious extremism, international terrorism, and ethnic separatism. However, its long-term objective is to promote economic development and regional stability among the member states.

Currently, Pakistan is suffering from an acute energy crisis, and it is estimated that the energy requirement will reach 5,000 megawatts by 2030. Given central Asian countries’ abundance of natural resources, Pakistan can utilise its membership to fulfil its energy requirements. The Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India pipeline will also provide 13.8 billion cubic metres of gas to Pakistan. Unfortunately, after the regime change in Afghanistan, the work on this pipeline was halted. However, the Taliban government has assured Turkmenistan of resuming the work on the pipeline soon.

Another important organisation is D-8, which includes Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Egypt, Iran, Malaysia, and Turkey. Recently, Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen who is also chairman of the D-8 ministerial said that, in the last 25 years, trade between the member countries increased from $40 billion to $139 billion. He also expressed plans for increasing trade volume in the coming years. Pakistan must use this as an opportunity to expand its export base.

Pakistan along with Turkey and Iran founded ECO, which now has 10 member countries including 6 Central Asian countries that are rich in energy resources. ECO mainly focuses on intra-regional trade. Considering that 7 member countries are landlocked, Pakistan is the only member country that provides a natural sea route to 6 of the countries. Therefore, Pakistan must take advantage of its geostrategic location to secure its interests.

In 1985, SAARC was created to promote economic, cultural, and scientific cooperation among the member states. However, the tense relationship, bilateral disputes, and political problems between India and Pakistan paralysed any progress.

Pakistan’s failure to benefit from the aforementioned organisations stems from internal political instability, a weak trade structure, and poor bilateral relations with neighbouring countries. Regional organisations help promote peace, progress, and prosperity among member states, which paves the way for socio-economic development. Therefore, Pakistan must delve into reforming trade policies and work with regional organisations to achieve economic progress. The country must set aside differences with neighbours, particularly India to boost regional economic activity. Given our geographical pre-eminence, we must utilise regionalism efficiently to improve our economic conditions.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 3^rd, 2022.

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