Pakistan explores avenues of furthering ties with World Economic Forum

ISLAMABAD: The committee for Pakistan’s engagement with the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Tuesday explored avenues for cooperation with the forum in priority areas including investment and economic growth, digitalisation and emerging technologies.

Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb chaired the committee meeting which outlined the objectives of the meeting and the committee constituted by the prime minister last week, for shaping a coherent national strategy for enhancing Pakistan’s engagement with WEF to secure opportunities for investment, innovation, and inclusive economic growth.

The participants shared ideas and discussed strategies to strengthen Pakistan’s leadership role at the WEF, with a special focus on creating direct engagement channels that yield tangible benefits for the people of Pakistan—particularly women, youth, and the business community. The deliberations emphasised compiling a comprehensive list of all ongoing WEF initiatives in Pakistan, assessing their progress, and identifying execution gaps.

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The committee also explored avenues for cooperation with WEF in priority areas such as investment and economic growth, digitalisation and emerging technologies including AI, skills development and productive employment, and climate change.

A key focus remained on ensuring Pakistan’s greater participation in the “future of jobs” discourse and promoting increased female labour force participation. Additionally, the committee discussed measures to improve Pakistan’s standing in the Global Gender Gap Index.

The chair thanked the participants for their valued inputs and hoped the committee’s deliberations would help adopt a structured, coordinated approach to Pakistan’s future engagement with the WEF, reinforcing the government’s commitment to positioning the country as an active, forward-looking partner in shaping the global economic agenda.

The meeting was attended by Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecom Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Federal Minister for Climate Change Dr Musadik Malik (virtually), SAPM for Industries and Production Haroon Akhtar Khan, Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kayani and senior officials from the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), Board of Investment (BOI), National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW), National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC), and Musharraf Zaidi, chief coordinator to the prime minister.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025