Pakistan, June 19 -- For much of the past two decades, policymakers around the world convinced themselves that geography no longer mattered. Technology was shrinking distances. Globalisation was integrating markets. Capital could move across continents with the click of a button. Supply chains stretched from Asia to Europe and North America with remarkable efficiency. The future, we were told, belonged to innovation, talent, and technology rather than physical location. Then reality intervened.

The pandemic exposed the vulnerability of global supply chains. The Russia-Ukraine war reminded the world that energy routes still matter. Rising tensions between the United States and China transformed trade into a strategic weapon. Shipping lane...