Join APF for a conversation on the current geopolitical issues concerning key players in the South Asia region. Experts will speak about the U.S.-Pakistan relationship, the increasing role of China in South Asia, the links between the Middle East and South Asia, and what the future may hold in Afghanistan.  

Joining our discussion will be Amb. Maleeha Lodhi, former Pakistan Ambassador to the U.S.; Amb. Rick Olson, former U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan; and Vali Nasr, Majid Khadduri Professor of International Affairs & Middle East Studies at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.

Speakers

Amb. Maleeha Lodhi is the former Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations from 2015 to 2019, has twice served as the Pakistan Ambassador to the U.S. and as High Commissioner to Britain. Until recently, she was the special adviser for international affairs to the Jang/Geo Group, Pakistan’s largest media conglomerate. She has also served as a member of the UN Secretary General’s Advisory Board on Disarmament Affairs from 2001 to 2005.

Amb. Rick Olson was the U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan from 2015 to 2016, and as U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan from 2012 to 2015. Previously, he served as the coordinating director for development and economic affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, as the U.S. Ambassador to the UAE, and as deputy chief of mission at the U.S Mission to NATO.

Vali Nasr is the Majid Khadduri Professor of International Affairs and Middle East Studies at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, and a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center. Previously, he served as the 8th Dean of Johns Hopkins SAIS between 2012 and 2019 as well as Senior Advisor to the U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan between 2009 and 2011.