Pakistan’s Regional Integration via Shared Economic Vision: Prospects and Challenges

Regional cooperation is essential for economic development in a world characterized by complex interdependence. The phenomenon of regional integration is very common these days, and the world witnesses various regional organizations, treaties, and agreements to ensure the optimal utilization of regional collective resources. This indicated that the future is in collective growth. Pakistan also focused on its regional integration lately. It has undergone a shift in its foreign policy from a security-centric state to economic initiatives commonly known as its Shared Economic Vision. This major shift in policy was observed after the capstone economic project of Pakistan CPEC in 2015, which was later confirmed by its National Security Policy (NSP) in 2022. Regional integrations can help countries to overcome the challenges of globalization and to reap the benefits of economic growth and development. Countries can promote regional cooperation by establishing regional trade agreements and regional infrastructure projects and cooperating on security and other issues. In this regard, this paper focuses on the importance of Pakistan's regional integration and the different projects/integrations it is undergoing to enhance its regional integration.