ISLAMABAD: The Centre for Afghanistan, Middle East and Africa (CAMEA) at the Institute of Strategic Studies, Islamabad (ISSI) hosted the participants of Human Resource Development Programme (HRDP) for Professionals at the International Islamic University (IIU) on Thursday.
The interactive session was addressed by Ambassador (Retd), Director General ISSI Sohail Mahmood and Director CAMEA Amina Khan in the introductory remarks welcomed the guests and briefed the group about the working of ISSI.
Extending a warm welcome to the participants, Sohail Mahmood highlighted the key features of the evolving global and regional environment and the dynamics shaping Pakistan’s foreign policy.
Among other things, he outlined key determinants of states’ foreign policy including geography, identity, history, resource endowment, leadership, economic imperatives, overarching strategic concepts, and the role of national institutions.
He also underscored the vital linkage between states’ internal strength and their external influence.
Sohail Mahmood underlined that the current international environment was extremely complex and fluid and the changes were taking place at an incredibly fast pace. States were facing a formidable challenge to adjust while keeping the national interest as the fundamental guiding principle, he added.
Among the traditional and non-traditional security threats at the global level, the DG ISSI highlighted great-power competition, the Ukraine conflict, the Covid-19 pandemic, and climate change.