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At a press conference on Monday, May 12th, U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. is ready to help India and Pakistan in the wake of a ceasefire agreement that he says his administration helped the broker. Trump added that trade is a big reason why they stopped fighting. Both States have an abundance of nuclear weapons, causing an increase concern of a conflict breaking out in the region. Trump additionally praised the leadership in both Pakistan and India. Trump brought up the important topic of trade between the two countries and others throughout the world, showing the importance of trade to both India and Pakistan, and how it is crucial to both their economies, enough to sign a ceasefire agreement.
I wrote an article previously detailing the resurgence of the conflict between India and Pakistan, but now it seems like this newly brokered ceasefire agreement will be the end for the time being. Trade is a crucial component for both India and Pakistan, as there economies are reliant on the products they export. Thus, the threat of possible trading deals falling through or the issue of conflict interfering with there economic production can be seen as detrimental to their economy. It seems as the United States used the strategic play of ensuring global stability with the preservation of India and Pakistan trading with the rest of the global community as an aspect in order to Broker a ceasefire agreement.
Trading is a core concept of liberal theory, which suggests that the collective goods problem can be solved through the cooperation of global actors due to reciprocity. Thus the focus on trade promotes peace and makes conflict less likely in the long term because governments will not want to disrupt any process that brings health to their states. Thus, the promotion of liberal theory and importance of trade serving as a vice for global connectivity served as the large standing reasoning for India and Pakistan to put aside their long-standing historic differences and sense of nationalism, making decisions in the lense for the common good and protecting trade relations in order to protects its own economy.