Valdai Club

The emergence of “New Economic Order” would transform the way logistics and transport in global market is being carried out. The North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) member countries must contribute effectively for the overall development of corridor i.e., the improvement of inland waterways, security of container and general cargo terminals in Caspian ports, the modernization of border crossing points and the construction of logistics hubs and roadside service facilities.

The religious diversity significant influences social constructs, politics, and hence global societies face challenges of cohesiveness and legislation to contain any type of social conflict. A general assessment refers to almost 84% of the world population is associated with their respective religious groups.

It is then the responsibility of the US, NATO and Russia to use strategic prudence and avert “nuclear Armageddon”, which in turn will protect the next generations from poverty, instability and perpetual conflict between Russia and the West, writes Muhammad Athar Javed, Director General, Pakistan House, Islamabad, for the 19th Annual conference Valdai Discussion Club

By all accounts, the global security setting has been shifted from South Asia to Europe, and even the most devastating crises in the Middle East and Asia have been deprioritised in the Western list of major conflicts. Despite changes in the strategic objectives of the US and NATO, the current situation in Afghanistan is once again aggravating: ISIS is increasing the frequency of its attacks on both Sunni and Shia Muslims.

Prime Minister Imran Khan’s upcoming visit to Moscow is an indication of Russia’s long-term commitment to include the whole of Asia among its top foreign policy priorities. Despite negative propaganda by some media outlets, Russia has always stayed modern and effective in its approach to maintaining an independent foreign and defence policy, thereby asserting its role as one of the most important global players, writes Muhammad Athar Javed, Director General of Pakistan House, an Islamabad-based Think Tank of International Affairs.

Intensifying economic and strategic competition, between China and the United States on the one hand and India-China on the other, has pushed all of South Asia to the verge of permanent instability, especially in the wake of the US/NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan.


The Tsentr-2019 strategic command post exercise will be one of the most important exercises in the domain of military drill. The main objective is to assess the level of combat readiness of the military. Given the contemporary conflicts in South and Central Asia and emergence of new dynamics in the Middle East, the exercise would likely to create more tensions between Russia and the West. One of the main reasons for this assessment is that while NATO’s presence in the Black Sea region has not always been a question of the balance of power, the Ukraine’s policies towards Russia have the risk of a military confrontation, in which NATO may be involved. It is this interconnected risk that legitimizes the show of combat readiness in Tsentr-2019.

Against the backdrop of realities on the ground in Afghanistan, it has been assessed that a final peace agreement between the US and the Taliban may not be possible as yet. It has also been assessed that if a comprehensive peace accord is not reached, the US troops will not be withdrawn from Afghanistan – portending more violence in the restive central Asian country.  

Without a futuristic vision, established and managed both internally and especially between relevant institutions, it is a reality that inbuilt tensions between the Afghan government and Taliban can only be reduced if political disagreements between the US/NATO and Taliban end in an acceptable timeline and with a realistic withdrawal plan.

A syndicate of transnational terrorist organizations are actively pursuing to create significant divide between different religious minorities, in order to delegitimize writ of several states – which in turn may create more instability and social chaos in South Asia and elsewhere.