ISLAMABAD: The Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI), a non-profit research organization established in 1973, has set up a separate unit that will focus on the Middle East and Africa to help policymakers refine their understanding of the two regions.
The ISSI works closely with the country’s foreign policy establishment, and its decision to set up the Center for Middle East and Africa (CMEA) is widely viewed as an indication that Pakistan wants to further strengthen its diplomatic ties with countries in the two territories.
“It was a longstanding demand of our foreign ministry,” Amina Khan, director of the center, told Arab News on Friday. “It was established in view of Pakistan’s important relations with countries in the Middle East and Africa.”
She said the center aimed to generate quality research and analysis to provide better policy input to those dealing with these regions.
Pakistan's foreign secretary Sohail Mahmood inaugurates the Centre for Middle East and Africa at the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad on October 15, 2020. (Picture Courtesy: Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad)
Khan said Pakistan had a huge diaspora community, especially in the Gulf countries, adding that this made it even more important for it to improve its understanding of the Middle East.
“The center will keep an eye on the latest developments, organize and promote dialogue and debate on political, security, economic, and social aspects of Middle Eastern and African countries, and keep its research relevant to Pakistan,” she continued.
“We want to expand our work and engage with likeminded organizations and individuals from around the globe through research, webinars and conferences,” she added.
Khan also informed that the new research department was set up without any extra allocations.
“This center consists of the same staff which was already working with the ISSI,” she explained, “so it is utilizing the same budget which was given to institute by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and no extra budget was acquired for this purpose.”
“The Middle East is one of the most critical areas in the world today,” Pakistan’s foreign secretary Sohail Mahmood said on Thursday while addressing the center’s inauguration ceremony. “The people of Pakistan also share strong affinities with the people of the Middle East region.”
He noted that Pakistan’s future economic and strategic prospects were closely connected with the Middle East, stressing the need for in-depth research to fully harness its potential.
“The establishment of CMEA is both timely and beneficial,” he said.
His opinion was also echoed by the ISSI director general, Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, who maintained that Pakistan had “huge stakes” in the region.
The new unit is the fourth center of excellence that has been established at the ISSI. The other three are the Pak-China study center, India center and arms control and disarmament center.
