On November 20, the annual South Asia Conclave, organised by Nutshell Forum, Pakistan, was held in Lahore. Manjeet Kripalani, executive director, Gateway House, and Akshay Mathur, head of research, Gateway House participated in the conclave.
In a session on Pakistan’s Connectivity, Akshay Mathur presented Pakistan centrality within Asia, through a map of Asia’s Strategic Corridors. Pakistan, he suggested, has a crucial geographical positioning in Asia, at the centre of connectivity between India, China, West Asia and Central Asia. A series of new linkages are being developed in Pakistan that will link the country from North to South, East to West, with domestic, foreign and multilateral funding. This will help the country reinstate itself into the Asian connectivity grid.
Other questions answered at the forum included: How can Pakistan benefit from its connections to China? What is the status of the energy pipelines with the north and west, and how can they reach full potential? What intra-Pakistan linkages need to be developed for the country to benefit from its central geographic location? How can the security risks be addressed or mitigated? How can Pakistan leverage international and multilateral agencies to fund these corridors? Can the new BRICS Development Bank, or China’s new Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, be promising new multilateral partners and how?
This is the second South Asia Conclave, Lahore, in which Gateway House has participated.
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