Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: The Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI) is holding its annual flagship event, “Islamabad Conclave”, next week. The thematic focus of this year’s Conclave would be on “Pakistan in a Changing World.”
The Islamabad Conclave embodies a 1.5-track initiative designed to converge the highest tiers of foreign and Pakistani leadership, policymakers, and academia onto a singular platform. The event serves as a forum to evaluate the intricate political, security and economic issues as well as traditional and non-traditional threats affecting Pakistan and the region and to suggest responses and innovative solutions.
The Conclave’s third iteration is scheduled for December 6-7, 2023. Comprising a sequence of high-level interactions in the Plenary and 5 Working Sessions, the Conclave focuses on five distinct sub-themes.
The first working session, titled “Evolving Geopolitical Dynamics, Emerging Technologies, and Shifts in Strategic Thought,” is being organized by the Arms Control and Disarmament Centre (ACDC) at ISSI. It will delve into the transformative changes at the international level, marked by major power rivalries, military modernization, and the surge in emerging technologies, accompanied by a decline in arms control and disarmament norms. The second working session, “Changing Regional Landscape: From Afghanistan to Middle East,” is being organized by the Centre for Afghanistan, Middle East and Africa (CAMEA) at ISSI. It will concentrate on the evolving relationships between Pakistan and key neighboring countries, especially Afghanistan and in the Middle East. It aims to analyze shifting non-traditional security dynamics, challenges, and the imperative to fortify economic and regional connectivity for sustainable growth.
“Navigating Complex Geopolitics: Accentuating Pivot to Geo-economics” forms the crux of the third working session, fostering insightful deliberations on the transformative shift in international relations.
It is being organized by the China Pakistan Study Centre (CPSC) at ISSI. This session aims to gather diverse perspectives, fueling dynamic discourse on the evolving global and regional landscape and the imperative for Pakistan to manage the complex geopolitics and simultaneously accentuate its pivot to geo-economics.
The fourth working session, “Comprehensive Security in a World in Flux,” serves as a platform for robust exchanges on the economic and human dimensions of national security. This session is being organized by the Centre for Strategic Perspectives (CSP) at ISSI. While examining Pakistan’s distinct challenges and opportunities, the discussion contributes to shaping a forward-thinking and flexible security policy crucial for addressing non-traditional security challenges specific to Pakistan’s context.
The fifth and final working session, “Pakistan’s Foreign Policy in Emerging World Order,” is being organized by the India Study Centre (ISC) at ISSI. It will explore Pakistan’s relationships with major powers, prospects for peace and development in South Asia, efficacy of multilateralism and adaptation to evolving ‘minilateralism,’ and Islamabad’s interface with the developing world. Through these meticulously crafted sessions, with participation of eminent scholars, academics and practitioners from Pakistan and abroad, the Islamabad Conclave endeavors to foster comprehensive dialogue and strategic insights, culminating in a concluding plenary session to synthesize the wealth of ideas and perspectives shared throughout the event.
