Islamabad: Former Swedish prime minister Carl Bildt said on Wednesday that India and Pakistan need to resolve not only the Kashmir issue, but also a range of other matters including security and trade.
Mr Bildt is a veteran politician and intellectual who served as the prime minister of Sweden between 1991 and 1994, and foreign affairs minister between 2006 and 2014. On Wednesday, he delivered a talk on ‘Global Security Challenges in the era of New Geopolitical Realignments: European Responses’.
Mr Bildt said India and Pakistan could use the European Union as an example to find common ground and solutions.
A number of diplomats, academics, journalists, lawyers, activists and scholars attended the public talk, which was organised by the Swedish embassy and the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS).
Mr Bildt said that EU cooperation is more necessary than ever to deal with current and emerging challenges, given that the world is more dangerous and divided than ever before. He said one of the most critical challenges is Brexit.
He also said that while the United Nations system is essential, it does not always deliver as needed, and the trade system is in particular need of serious rethinking and reforms.
“Inter-regional cooperation is critical to solve contemporary geopolitical challenges, and this line of thinking applies not only to the EU but to any international region,” he said. He didn’t mince words when he added that invading another country normally does not end with them becoming friends.
He emphasised the need for a much more structured relationship between Europe and Turkey.
He also said that while the global economy is not in great shape, there is enormous growth in South Asia.
Speaking earlier, the special advisor to the prime minister on foreign affairs, Tariq Fatemi, asked whether the new world order is more just and more peaceful and based on principles, or based on narrow national interests to the detriment of others. He said the answer to this question would define a nation’s stance.
Mr Fatemi said no policy is ever without consequence, and while it may seem that our approaches may not be adequate, this should not discourage us from pursuing peaceful relations with our neighbours.
He said that the formation of the EU was preceded by internecine wars, but should this region also have to go through such bloodshed to get to where the EU is?
He said: “We will betray the trust of the people of Pakistan if we don’t build relationships with other players in the region and promote the concept of economic and regional connectivity and interdependency.”
