Opportunities and Challenges in Pakistan’s Foreign Policy

Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, South Asia, Foreign Policy

Event Summary

As Pakistan emerges from tumultuous national elections and continues to address tensions on its western frontier, the nation faces several domestic and foreign policy challenges—and opportunities—in the months ahead. Pakistan’s new prime minister is expected to diverge from the policies of President Pervez Musharraf, attempting to tackle complicated issues within Pakistan and beyond. With these changes and with the upcoming U.S. election in November, the U.S.-Pakistan relationship and the future of the war in Afghanistan will be reshaped in light of new realities in all three countries.

Event Information

When

Friday, July 11, 2008
12:30 PM to 1:30 PM

Where

Falk Auditorium
The Brookings Institution
1775 Massachusetts Ave., NW
Washington, DC
Map

Event Materials

Brookings/Ian Livingston

Contact: Brookings Office of Communications

E-mail: events@brookings.edu

Phone: 202.797.6105

On July 11, the Brookings Institution hosted Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi, the foreign minister of Pakistan, for a discussion of Pakistan’s foreign policy. Qureshi, a member of the Pakistan People’s Party, assumed the post of foreign minister in March 2008. He previously served as parliamentary secretary of food and agriculture from 1993 to 1994, and minister of state for parliamentary affairs from 1994 to 1996. Prior to that, he served as member of the provincial assembly of Punjab.

Brookings Senior Fellow Bruce Riedel, convener of Brookings’s Project on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World, provided introductory remarks and moderated the discussion. After Foreign Minister Qureshi’s remarks, Brookings Senior Fellow Stephen P. Cohen offered his observations on the situation in Pakistan. After the program, the foreign minister took audience questions.

Transcript

SHAH MAHMOOD QURESHI: We have recently seen a difficult period in our history and we continue to mourn the death of our icon of democracy Benazir Bhutto. But from challenge has come the strength. We are more determined than ever in our history to promote the ideals of peace, security, development, and reconciliation between cultures, values, and societies.

Ladies and gentlemen, in the past, the United States and Pakistan have stood side by side through perilous times. We look forward to continue to work with you and your great country in confronting the problems that nations face in this millennium, terrorism, extremism, poverty, hunger, illiteracy, and disease. The United States and Pakistan have also been long-standing allies. Pakistan's founder, Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, laid the foundation of this relationship immediately after our nation's independence in 1947. Together we now look forward to building a new, more mature, long-term partnership based on common values and common goals.

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Participants

Introduction and Moderator

Bruce Riedel

Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy, Saban Center for Middle East Policy

Keynote Speaker

Shah Mahmood Qureshi

Foreign Minister of Pakistan

Commentary

Stephen P. Cohen

Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy

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Opportunities and Challenges in Pakistan’s Foreign Policy