“We should endeavor to build a neighborhood which is peaceful, secure and prosperous. We should try to create a society where individuals are empowered and the marginalized are integrated into the mainstream,” said Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States. “This should be our objective and we should make no compromises in pursuing these goals,” he continued. Ambassador Masood Khan made these remarks while talking to a delegation of South Asian Policy and Research Initiative (SAPRI) from McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University. SAPRI is a student-led initiative dedicated to raising awareness on the critical development challenges facing economies in South Asia and promoting evidence-based policies in the region. The students were from Pakistan, India and Singapore. “In South Asia, we have not been able to establish a cohesive neighborhood. We don’t have connectivity and there are unresolved disputes that hinder any kind of productive economic collaboration,” he said. “If there are disputes, they should be resolved through diplomacy and dialogue. We should not be at warfronts; we should be around negotiating tables. We should talk ad-nauseum until the problems are resolved,” he continued. Citing example of European Union and the Western Europe, the Ambassador said that it was a good model to emulate to create linkages and forge strong economic partnerships. He said that some countries wanted to sweep the issues under the carpet and move ahead. “That is not possible,” he said. Talking about Pak-US relations, the Ambassador said that Pak-US relations were not affected by the China factor. He said that continued investment in trade, business to business ties and people to people exchanges would make Pak-US relations “abiding, resilient and longer-living.”
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