Istanbul hosts 2nd edition of global peace conference

ISTANBUL

The second edition of the International Conference on Global Peace was held in Istanbul on April 28 to discuss inter-regional cooperation in South Asia as well as across the world. 

Organized by Lahore Center for Peace Research (LCPR) and Istanbul-based South Asia Strategic Research Center (GASAM), the conference brought together many scholars, international experts, and diplomats in the city.

In his opening speech, professor Mujahid Mansoori, executive director of LCPR, cited Albert Einstein as saying: “Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding.”

“Besides the traditional instruments, we understand that this [peace] cannot be achieved in a [single] day,” Mansoori said.

“We want to develop a consensus on the world peace and what really the world peace is,” he added.

Hassan Askari Rizvi, emeritus professor of political science at Pakistan’s Punjab University, underlined the importance of promoting inter-regional cooperation between the countries.

“Inter-regional cooperation is a strategy for bringing humanity together despite the geographic distances that exist,” Rizvi said. 

“This encourages economic and social development and strengthen societies. […] It is a short strategy for fighting poverty and underdevelopment that challenge all of us.

“We need to sit together, talk to each other to promote inter-regional cooperation with the objective of providing dividends to all,” the professor said.

Shamshad Ahmad Khan, a veteran Pakistani diplomat, who served as the foreign secretary of Pakistan from 1997 to 2000, conveyed the message of Sohail Mahmood, the incumbent foreign secretary.

“Inter-regional cooperation holds the key to many of the world’s problems, not just in the political sense, but also broadly, in terms of people to people, business to business, government to government and sector to sector contacts and collaborations,” Khan quoted Mahmood as saying.