PARTLY FACETIOUS: How about getting bilaterals and multilaterals to clear our debt?

“Supranational bodies would do well to learn from us.”

“I know we are signatories to a lot of international conventions, but I am not sure how successful we have been as members of supranational bodies. SAARC is dead because of India, the biggest member of us all, doesn’t like us, then there is BRICS and here too India is stone walling….”

“Look at the glass as half full.”

“We are good at bilaterals these days. Our leadership is perhaps the only one in this world that President Trump in his second term has not said a bad word about….”

“Talking of the tariffs – are our tariffs…”

“Shut up right now….”

“How about getting bilaterals and multilaterals to clear our debt?”

“Oh, for Pete’s sake, stop right there. Anyway when I said supranational bodies must learn from us, I was referring to the European Union (EU)?”

“I don’t see why? The EU has antagonized major powers, Russia and China, leading to extremely negative fallout on their citizens. Russian cheap gas pipeline as you well know was blown up, am not sure if the Ukrainians actually blew it up or whether President Biden had it blown up as he publicly indicated and….”

“And they are going to ban Chinese solar tech to make sure that European households continue to pay a very high price for US energy….”

“The EU says there was a risk of disruption by foreign actors.”

“So the only foreign actor that is acceptable is the US and now with UAE oil supplies disrupted….”

“And that’s what they can learn from us?”

“Immediate history or is it way back….”

“Our way back history. Remember Ayub Khan’s basic democracy where the Electoral College consisted of 80,000 locals voted for him – a manageable number and….”

“Oh you mean the EU decision makers have a limited electoral college and therefore the college must be widened…but our basic democracy lasted for a decade at least.”

“Right, and that’s my point – the sell by date of the EU bureaucrats is over.”

“Ursula von der Leyen will be made at you, and she is going to do a Hungary or Georgia or….”

“In her dreams! We can manage elections much better than she can.”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026