The 5th edition of the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad conclave concluded in Islamabad with a strong call for Reimagining South Asia around security, economy, climate and connectivity. The two-day forum brought together policymakers, diplomats, scholars and civil society to examine how the region can shift from rivalry to cooperative frameworks that deliver tangible benefits.<\/p>\n
Director General ISSI Ambassador Sohail Mahmood presented the synthesis of the inaugural session and five working groups, underlining that Reimagining South Asia is both timely and necessary. Speakers agreed that persistent deficits in security, development and regional cooperation continue to limit the region’s potential. Escalating geopolitical tensions, unresolved disputes, and recent crises in May 2025 were highlighted as reminders of regional fragility and the need to prioritize institutionalised cooperation, economic integration and climate resilience.<\/p>\n
Ambassador Sohail Mahmood emphasised that states in the region have the agency to change the current trajectory and adopt win-win approaches rather than zero-sum strategies. He recalled the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar’s appeal to fundamentally rethink the architecture of regional cooperation and to pursue pragmatic collaboration through new formats with ‘variable geometry’ that can accommodate different levels of engagement.<\/p>\n
Chief Guest Ambassador Inam ul Haque offered a wide-ranging assessment of the evolving global order and its implications for South Asia. He noted that while the United States remains a dominant power, China is rising and Russia is resurging, and that the final shape of the global order remains uncertain. He urged Pakistan to maintain balanced, constructive engagement with all partners while safeguarding national interests, reaffirming the value of Pakistan’s strategic partnership with China alongside productive ties with Western countries.<\/p>\n
Ambassador Inam ul Haque also stressed the importance of stronger regional institutions, inclusive economic strategies, improved connectivity and human-centred development. He underlined the imperative of internal consolidation in Pakistan, calling for sustained attention to economic growth, population management, health sector improvements, education reform and better governance as prerequisites for meaningful regional engagement.<\/p>\n
Ambassador Khalid Mahmood, Chairman Board of Governors ISSI, expressed gratitude to speakers and participants and reflected on a global order in transition. He praised the Conclave for addressing complex regional dynamics and offering forward-looking insights. Ambassador Sohail Mahmood concluded by thanking the ISSI team and noting that this was his final conclave as Director General ahead of a new assignment in January 2026.<\/p>\n
The conclave reaffirmed a renewed push for collaborative policies that strengthen connectivity, promote economic integration and build climate resilience across South Asia. Participants left with a clear sense that pragmatic, institutionalised cooperation offers the most promising path for regional peace, stability and shared prosperity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISSI’s Islamabad Conclave 2025 outlines pathways for Reimagining South Asia through cooperation, connectivity, economic integration and climate resilience.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":14974,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[94],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14975","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pakistan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14975","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14975"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14975\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14974"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14975"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14975"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14975"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}