In this era, where countries are facing climate change, pandemics, and technological revolutions, the intersection between science and foreign policy has gained immense importance. Science diplomacy translates into a scientific revolution, helping to derive foreign policy for solving globally shared problems on the road to peace.
It is not a new concept. It was scientists, not politicians, who kept the communication gates open during the nuclear tensions in the Cold War. Cooperative efforts in arms control verification projects, space exploration, and medical research found a loophole to dialogue even when non-diplomatic relations were otherwise frozen. It is the same motivating force that today leads to global initiatives such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), and the Human Genome Project.
But when we turn to Pakistan, the scenario is both potentially promising and sobering.
Why Science Diplomacy Matters
Science diplomacy works on three levels:
- Science in diplomacy – providing evidence and expertise to guide foreign policy.
- Diplomacy for science – building international partnerships that enable scientific progress.
- Science for diplomacy – using science to bridge divides and foster peace.
COVID-19 in 2020 was a very explicit example of all three. The data on the virus was disseminated between the countries via the World Health Organization, and resources towards the vaccine were pooled globally, together with the alignment of public health measures. The International Space Station is an example of scientific cooperation that can occur despite the politics of power.
This comprehensively renders science diplomacy as obligatory in the case of Pakistan due to the constant rise in population, climate sensitivity issues, and the desire to further pursue technological developments.
Pakistan’s Lagging Position
Even compared to the world leaders like the United States, the European Union, or China, Pakistan has no office for science diplomacy. The United States has the Science Envoy Program, the European Union has Horizon Europe, which has made science part of the global strategy, and the Chinese has the Belt and Road Initiative that has embedded science diplomacy. India and Brazil are equally catching up by making science one of the pillars of their international interaction.
Despite having nuclear technology, agricultural research, and health sciences as strengths, Pakistan has failed to institutionalize science diplomacy. Its actions tend to be reactive, rather than instigating the agenda to the world, it chooses to respond to crises. The problem has been further compounded by the lack of funding sources, inadequate infrastructure, and poor coordination between scientists and diplomats.
Insights from Pakistani Experts
Three Pakistani scholars, Aleem Ahmed Sayyed, Paras Ali, and Syed Javed Akhter, have given important insights into the reasons why Pakistan finds itself behind others.
Sayyed explains that the issue in Pakistan is that it lacks a national system of integrating science and diplomacy. Pakistan keeps missing opportunities without vision and planning.
Ali points to a disconnect between scientists and foreign policy communities. The former is typically siloed and dislocated, whilst the latter is generally poorly equipped to stimulate productive interaction.
Akhter cites low levels of R&D spending and bureaucratic stagnation. Although Pakistan has been able to lead through the OIC’s COMSTECH (Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation), it has not succeeded in playing this role effectively since its operations and activities are poorly organised.
In combination, their criticism gives the impression of unrealised potential. Unless Pakistan develops institutions and collaborates, it can easily be excluded from international scientific networks.
The OIC and Regional Platforms on Diplomacy and International Cooperation
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has tried to get its 57 member states to use more science and technology. Pakistan has a chance to work together on projects that deal with water shortages, renewable energy, and biotechnology. But political tensions and differences in capacity between member states make progress hard. Countries like Pakistan would gain a lot if the OIC could improve its science diplomacy.
Platforms like SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) are also not being used as much as they could be. South Asia could change for the better if countries work together on climate change, water management, and disaster resilience. But this can only happen if political differences are put aside.
Pakistan’s Path Forward
The bright side is that there are ways of dealing with it. Pakistan can convert its liabilities into assets:
- Form a Science Diplomacy Cell within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to fill the gaps that exist between scientists and policymakers.
- Forge a national science diplomacy policy that is congruent with foreign policy goals.
- Increased investment in research and infrastructure, primarily in the renewable energy sectors, artificial intelligence, and biotechnology.
- Try to make diplomats scientifically literate and scientists diplomatic so that they can overcome the cultural gaps.
- Utilise the diaspora, wherein thousands of scientists are excelling throughout the world, to build international networks.
- Strengthen co-operation between the public and the private in innovation and research.
Not that these steps are impossible, they just require political sense and continuous investments.
Challenges on the Horizon
Pakistan will only need to contend with some unpleasant realities, with low spending on research (beating less than 1% percent of GDP), it is not easy to compete in the world. Brain drain has been going on to deny the country the best talents. The causes of the lack of long-term planning are caused by political instability. Geopolitical rivalries between the states of South Asia act against cooperation.
Despite these impediments, Pakistan does have exclusivities. The geostrategic location of the country, flanked as it is by both the South, Central, and Middle East, makes the country a possible location for scientific collaboration. It offers a young science and science workforce in its youth bulge. New and emerging areas like climate resilience, water management, and renewable energy are planetary priorities where Pakistan can play an important part.
A Call to Action
Science diplomacy is not only about laboratories and agreements, it is also about humans. It is about the young Pakistani scientist in Islamabad creating AI software for the agricultural sector that could collaborate with counterparts in Europe. It is regarding physicians in Karachi who operate on infectious illnesses that can exchange information with African and Middle Eastern networks. It is on engineers, in Lahore, investigating solar energy that they might be able to collaborate with Chinese and Central Asian companies.
When Pakistan institutionalizes science diplomacy, it can help give voice to these people and elevate innovation to influence. Otherwise, the country would be left as a spectator as others dictate the terms of the new world.
The Royal Society defines science diplomacy as a matter of finding a way around the shifting power balance. In Pakistan, moving intelligently does not only imply surviving the world changes, but shaping them.
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The views and opinions expressed in this article/paper are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Paradigm Shift.
Mohammad Urva Rind is a student of Defence and Strategic Studies at Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, with a keen interest in South Asian security and diplomacy, along with painting a positive image of Pakistan.