FM Bilawal advises world powers to create space for ‘dialogue and diplomatic engagement’ to resolve the Russia-Ukraine conflict
DAVOS, Jan 20 (SABAH): Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Friday advised world powers to create space for “dialogue and diplomatic engagement” to resolve the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Speaking a dialogue session titled Security and Coordination in Davos on Friday, the PPP chairman expressed hope to see a more proactive approach from both sides to engage in diplomacy in the pursuit of peace.
“I believe diplomacy is the key thing that is missing,” he said. “Our hope is that this does not turn into the next forever war and is resolved sooner than later.”
Highlighting Pakistan’s experience of witnessing a long Afghan war in the neighbourhood, FM Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said the conflict was ultimately resolved at the negotiating table.
“I feel we wasted time because, in 2002, the Afghan Taliban were willing to surrender and negotiate,” the foreign minister said. “But we did not take that offer seriously and had to do the same ten years later in 2022.”
Bilawal Bhutto said geopolitics these days was reflecting a lot of domestic politics, adding that hyper-polarisation and hyper-partisanship were spreading all over the world.
“The international order and institutional framework have been fragmented and undermined,” he said. “What we would like to see is a more normative functioning to solve issues.”
FM Bilawal said repercussions of the war were not limited to Europe but extended to Pakistan in the form of high energy and food prices.
“As far as support for the UNSC resolutions, international law, and humanitarian crisis are concerned, we share the same views as the world,” the foreign minister said as he shared his views on the Russia-Ukraine conflict. “However, we don’t see the conflict as the first in its time where the UN resolutions were violated.”
Bilawal Bhutto termed it ironic that United Nations laws were applied in Ukraine but not in Iraq.
“We find it sad that the UNSC resolutions that mean so much to Europe and West but are nothing more than the paper they were written on when it comes to India-Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).”
He also called for the revamping and restructuring of international financial institutions to address complaints of the global south.
“We should return to normative functioning of international institutions for the resolution of disputes and other challenges including climate change being faced by the global community,” Bilawal Bhutto said.
The foreign minister added that the prevailing disputes which have endangered the world would have been resolved amicably if the international institutions under the UN framework begin working according to the needs of the current era.
Meanwhile FM Bilawal Bhutto Zardari says Pakistan looks forward to fostering public private partnerships with Google to scale up country’s digital economy and skills.
He was talking to President of Google for Asia-Pacific Scott Beaumont at the sidelines of World Economic Forum at Davos in Switzerland.
The two sides also discussed ways to augment Pakistan’s technical support for forecasting extreme weather events.