- ‘When a new great power emerges, a great disequilibrium emerges’
Former foreign affairs minister Inam-ul-Haq has said that US President Donald Trump wishes to restore American supremacy and mistakenly believes he can bring back jobs to the United State and protect the economy from the onslaught of globalisation.
He was addressing a seminar – US foreign policy and Trump presidency: a review and outlook – organised by the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI) in collaboration with the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) of the COMSATS, here on Monday.
Former ambassadors Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, Saeed Khalid, Fouzia Nasreen, journalist Zahid Hussain, researcher Dr Talat Farooq, Assistant Professor Dr Imran Syed, researcher Shamsa Nawaz also addressed the seminar.
On the occasion, Inam remarked that the world was converging towards a very dangerous future for mankind as a whole. He said that the international community was faced with many problems, while elites were trying to maintain their status, the poor of the world were trying to claw out of the hunger and disease they have been consigned to for generations.
He also highlighted issues that were of particular importance – terrorism, nuclear assets, India-Pakistan relations and the drastic slash of US aid. ISSI Board of Governors Chairman Ambassador Khalid Mahmood stated that the world was still reeling in the aftermath of the US elections – the rise of social and political divisions along racial lines were evidence of this and that Trump’s ambivalent policies were only reinforcing existing fears and apprehensions.
Focusing on South Asia, Zahid Hussain stated that it was clear that pressure on Pakistan to fight militants would further increase, as would an escalation in drone strikes. He went on to say that there would be no change in the US policy towards Pakistan and India. If anything, each countries’ relations with China would affect the respective US policy towards them.
Dr Talat Farooq said that US foreign policy was less about personalities and more about geopolitical and strategic interests and was of the opinion that even while playing the divisionary blame-game by holding Pakistan responsible for the failures of the US and Afghan governments, the Trump administration would continue to show restraint in isolating Pakistan.
Ashraf Jehangir Qazi highlighted that history teaches all that when a new great power emerges, a great disequilibrium emerges. He went on to state that China’s strategic support to Pakistan has its limits. So, in order to take advantage of any strategic alliance, it was imperative to address the challenges at home first.
Dr Imran Syed outlined the domestic sources of US foreign policy and stated that Trump’s ability to move forward on foreign policy will be curtailed because of the checks and balances engrained in the US system. Shamsa Nawaz stated that despite various meetings by members of the US administration with their European counterparts, there was still an absence of clear policies towards the European Union.
She also said that if Europe is to maintain itself as a close partner of the US, it needs to urgently re-discover ways to increase economic dynamism and competitiveness. Ambassador Saeed Khalid stated that though Trump was yet to lay down his Russian policy, one should not overlook the fact that any lowering of US commitment to Europe or NATO would have two repercussions: firstly, America’s profile would suffer, and secondly, it would also cause severe losses to the defence industry.
Fouzia Nasreen delivered the vote of thanks and stated that at present a lot of things are in a state of flux. There is a general xenophobic sentiment in the world at the moment and Trump’s election is evidence of the limit to the acceptance towards migrants. She also pointed to the importance of the situation in North Korea and stated that the US should seek to engage with China on this issue.