Dr Akis’ lectures on US’ Foreign Policy for South Asia
IPS arranged two insightful lectures on US’ Foreign Policy for
South Asia by Dr Akis Kalaitzidis – a professor at the University of Central
Missouri, USA – at Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU), Islamabad, and Riphah
Institute of Media Sciences (RIMS), on November 29, 2019.
In his first lecture, which was delivered at the QAU department
of the Defence and Strategic Studies (DSS), Dr Akis talked about the importance
of foreign policy for any country while highlighting several issues in the
foreign policies of the USA.
Speaking of India, he said that the country was among very good
friends of USA and it is difficult to imagine that USA would do anything that
India doesn’t like.
Expressing his views on Pakistan, the professor said that the
country had gone through very tough times fighting terrorism but appreciated
the resilience exhibited by the nation in overcoming such stern challenges
Over Kashmir issue, Dr Akis maintained that the matter had a
humanitarian aspect associated with it and hence must be resolved in line with
humanitarian rights. Terming a peaceful Kashmir the key for the region’s
prosperous future, the speaker said that he was happy to see Muzaffarabad in
Azad Jammu and Kashmir well-developed and completely at peace.
In his second lecture, which was delivered at RIMS, the American
scholar talked about the foreign policy of USA towards the South Asian region
as well as how the country was planning to shape its relations with the South
Asian countries going forward. He said the foundations of these relations would
largely be based on trade and India being a good friend of USA will have an
important role to play in this regard.
It may be mentioned here that Dr Akis was visiting Pakistan on a
short trip to partake in two international seminars on Kashmir issue which were
organized by IPS in Islamabad and Muzaffarabad, Azar Jammu and Kashmir on 26th
and 28th November respectively.
