Description: US President Donald Trump and Pakistan’s Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir met in the White House where they discussed at length the current situation in the Middle East, trade and economic development and cryptocurrency. Trump praised Munir’s involvement on the Pakistani side in deescalating the India – Pakistan conflict and managing to diverge the countries from the warfare course. Munir countered recent statements from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, that Trump hasn’t been instrumental towards the de-escalation and reportedly called for Trump to be awarded a Nobel peace prize.
Impact: Pakistan is one of the most influential regional actors in the Middle East and a nuclear power, which makes the meeting between Trump and Munir of high importance taking into consideration the current crisis. Pakistan closed off its airspace to Iran over the escalation of military activities and rising tensions related to US military involvement in the war. Pakistan, despite historically having close ties with China, could position itself in a crucial diplomatic position which would contribute towards deescalating the tensions between Israel and Iran and preventing the crisis from engulfing the entire Middle East. The discussions around trade, economic development and cryptocurrency indicate a potential expanded involvement by the US in Pakistan, competing for influence with China’s geoeconomic and geostrategic interests in the region.