IPRI, COPAIR discuss “Socioeconomic Development to Mitigate Disparities”

• Seminar organised by Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI) and Centre of Pakistan and International Relations.
• Chief guest Ahsan Iqbal stressed on educational revolution, and that all resources must be mobilised in this regard.
• Pakistan faces a gigantic task to develop human capital, and the economic slump has pushed it at the brink.

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI) in collaboration with Centre of Pakistan and International Relations (COPAIR) organised a seminar on “Socioeconomic Development to Mitigate Disparities”, a statement said.

COPAIR Chairman Ambassador Khalid Mahmood (Retd) and IPRI President Ambassador Raza Muhammad (Retd) opened the seminar held under the flagship of Grand National Dialogue.

Former federal minister of commerce Muhammad Zubair Khan, Islamabad Stock Exchange Chairman Zahid Latif Khan, former Sindh minister Rubina Saadat Qaimkhani and PIDE School of Economics Head Shujaat Farooq addressed the session on “Policy Intervention by Government to Alleviate Poverty”.

The second session on “Challenges in Policy Implementation and Achieving Sustainable Development Goals,” was participated by former Sindh governor Mohammad Zubair Umar, through a video-recorded message.

The other notables included former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MNA Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, former advisor ministry of finance Dr Hassan Dawood Butt, US-Pakistan International Chamber of Commerce President Mohammad Ahmed and Coordinator to the prime minister on commerce and industry Rana Ihsan Afzal Khan.

The chief guest at GND, Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal stressed on educational revolution, and that all resources must be mobilised in this regard.

“We are entering in an era of information and technological revolution, and the way forward in this is knowledge and intellectual development,” he added.

He pointed out that information technology is in need of huge capital, and the need of the hour is to work on digital upgradation without any let and hindrance.

Iqbal spelt out the efforts that the coalition government wanted to make in uplifting the low-lying districts from the abyss of poverty, and regretted that the monsoon deluge has devastated all such efforts.

Pakistan faces a gigantic task to develop human capital, and the economic slump to the tune of $32 billion in the wake of floods has pushed it at the brink.

Other speakers also observed that capacity-building should be the focus of policy-makers, and the government should lead from the front.

Minority legislator Ramesh Kumar remarked that national character is in the need of being strengthened, and it can only be done when tolerance and compassion in political thought is promoted.

He suggested that a consortium of thinkers and policy-makers must be instituted so that the long-term policies and strategies can be structured, so that with any change of political government, development and policies are not impacted.

Speakers underscored the need for implementing sustainable development goals (SDG) objectives, and stated that indigenisation of the industry is a must to make it an export-oriented economy.

The concept, they believed, is to find the “Right man for the right job,” and called for a culture of meritocracy which is lacking and lagging at the moment in national life.

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