China cornerstone of Pakistan’s foreign policy: Maleeha Lodhi

CAMBRIDGE, April 27: Pakistan’s relationship with China is strategic, historic, trouble-free and pivotal to the country’s foreign policy, Ambassador to the United Nations Dr Maleeha Lodhi said during a talk at Harvard University.
Speaking at a programme called the “Future of Diplomacy” at the Kennedy School of Government, Lodhi set out Pakistan’s regional and global agenda and emphasised that this reflected national priorities and Islamabad’s role as a “critical state” in international affairs.
The national priorities she listed included economic revival, the defeat of terrorism and elimination of violent extremism in and around Pakistan, preservation of the country’s strategic capability and building regional peace and stability. The latter, she explained, required an end to the conflict in Afghanistan, and normalization of Pakistan-India relations on an equitable and durable basis.
She told the audience that Pakistan’s multiple foreign policy engagements today are shaped by these national priorities.
Ambassador Lodhi also named regional economic cooperation and connectivity as another key priority. This, she said, was being pursued through various trans-regional projects, which aim to enhance prospects of growth and development. She cited the China Pakistan Economic Corridor as the most ambitious and potentially game changing example of regional economic cooperation.
Expounding on the Pakistan-China relationship, Ambassador Lodhi said that the strategic evolution of this relationship has given the Pak-China partnership added significance at a time of a fundamental change in the global balance of power brought about by China’s rise as a global economic powerhouse.-NNI