KARACHI, May 15: Pakistan’s relations with the European Union are dependent on how Islamabad manages democratic issues.

This was the consensus of the foreign participants in a seminar on “Future of Europe: Economic, political and external aspects” which was organised by the Area Study Centre for Europe, University of Karachi, here on Wednesday.

It was also emphasised that there was a need for evolving a mechanism for resolving conflicts in the region and for boosting economic development.

The seminar also examined the effects of globalization in the developed and the developing countries and it was pointed out that anti-globalisation protests in the industrialised countries indicated the negative impact on these economies.

It was emphasised that sound economic policies are required for taking an advantage for boosting Pakistan’s foreign trade (exports) and encouraging foreign investment.

Prof. Angelo Santagostino was of the view that globalisation enhanced opportunities for the developing countries.

He opined that globalization as an economic phenomenon was not a new one and was almost a century-old now and that it dates back to 1880.

Prof. Santagostino suggested that there was a need for more rules to govern globalisation.

Dr. Esra Hatipogula of Turkey’s University of Marmara said if there was a constitution of the European Union, it could be effective in dealing the question of legitimacy of the organization.

Prof. Danilo Ardia of Italy’s University of Padova spoke on growing relations between the European Union and the Asia economies.

He was of the view that the Asians should themselves resolve the regional issues, including that of the Kashmir problem to help attain accelerated growth.

Prof. Dr. Talat A. Wizarat of the Department of International Relations, University of Karachi, believed that some kind of management of globalization is necessary but this remains to be seen as to who would do it and how it would be done.

Tehseen Nisar of the ASCE, University of Karachi, also spoke.

The Director of the ASCE, University of Karachi, Prof. Dr. Naveed Ahmed Tahir said that Wednesday’s workshop also marked the successful completion of the three-year European Union-sponsored European Studies Programme at the ASCE.