News reports on the ongoing US visit of the premier of Pakistan have been coming in. Here is what Nawaz has been upto so far:
1. Talked to Bill Gates about polio eradication, maybe the Gates Foundation will be roped in to help the government in the area. Side Note: Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries left on the list of countries with Polio. Even Nigeria managed to come on this list recently.
2. Tried to attract German investment into the Thar Coal project thus making Germany a part of the CPEC. Side Note: CPEC is supposed to be an exclusively China centric project. However, some elements are raising concerns about the fact that China is showing reluctance and causing purported delays in some areas of this project as they want to be assured about the safety and security in the region. Pakistan is in the process of cleaning up Balochistan of militant elements, about which much more detail need to be looked into and this needs a separate discussion.
3. Talked to the Swiss Prime Minister and asked him to help with the power sector.
4. Showcased Pakistan's prowess in the area of foreign policy (?) by stating how Pakistan's Foreign Services Academy has been providing training facilities to the African and Central Asian countries (More on this later)
5. Stressed on the importance of private sector and businesses to make the CPEC a successful project while addressing Xinpang
Modi, on the other hand, spoke to the US tech hub and spent time with Mark Zuckerburg, and was able to create partnerships as well as secure firm pledges from Google and Microsoft to name a couple. He made solid grounds in this regard.
The other important issue is the way Pakistan presented its grievances about building of a wall along the LoC to the USA and the indirect rebuttal that it received. The premise of this complaint was a letter submitted to Pakistan by Hizbut Tehrir head Salahuddin and this fact is known to all. Further the two letters submitted by Pakistan Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi over last two weeks have been to the President of the UNSC and Pakistan wows to raise the issue at every international forum. India also used diplomacy channels to raise concerns about LeT and was successful in raising the issue to an international level, where John Kerry told world leaders that outside of Syria, the other organizations responsible for creating terror in the world, and a threat to world peace include LeT. This is a clear diplomacy failure of Pakistan and a resounding success for India.
Pakistan clearly appeared as trying to seek help and assistance from various heads of states, with no promises from anyone so far. In contrast, Modi has been taking pledges from different business groups who have confirmed investments in the IT and development sector. Budgets have been pledged and confirmations made. After this stint in the US it is clear to the world that Modi has come out at presenting the case of India as a lucrative market, a hub for the future and an all inclusive country. Pakistan on the other hand appears as a country anxious for world approval and assistance, solely relying on and making a case for CPEC and all matters related to it.