IBA Karachi organizes sixth Annual International Cbercon 2026

KARACHI: IBA proudly hosted the Sixth Annual International Conference on “Beyond Polycrisis: Pathways Towards a Sustainable Economic Future”, which was organized by IBA Center for Business & Economic Research (CBER), in partnership with the World Bank Group, Sindh Higher Education Commission, NOWPDP, Dawn Media and Avari Towers.

The two-day conference brought together scholars, policymakers, industry leaders and students to examine how Pakistan can move beyond its overlapping economic, climate and governance crises.

Dr. S Akbar Zaidi, Executive Director, IBA Karachi, in his opening remarks, described Pakistan’s economic, climate, population and political challenges as interconnected crises, noting that growth has for years remained only slightly above the rate of population growth. He identified climate change and population as two crises that need far greater attention, with Pakistan’s population of about 250 million projected to reach 270 million by 2030.

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Dr. Yaqoob Khan Bangash, Professor & Dean, SESS, noted in his welcome address, that Pakistan has shown real resilience through repeated crises, but cautioned that survival should not be mistaken for progress. He said the question is not only how Pakistan gets through its crises, but what it must do to move beyond them.

Prof. Adil Najam, Dean Emeritus & Professor, Boston University’s Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, and President, WWF International, delivered the opening keynote on “Climate Change and the Age of Adaptation”. Calling climate impacts a present reality, he said climate is “too important to be left to climate people alone” and urged that it be built into policy on water, health, education and infrastructure. Prof. Iwi Ugiagbe-Green, Professor of Equity in Education & Academic Director (STRIVE), Manchester Metropolitan University, UK, revisited Keynes’s Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren, arguing that prosperity should be measured by people’s well-being and the planet’s capacity to sustain life.

Day 01 of CBERCON 2026 also featured a leadership session with Zafar Masud, President & CEO, Bank of Punjab, on resilience and ethical leadership, and a conversation with Umar Saif, Former Minister for IT& Telecom, and Science & Technology of Pakistan, and Miftah Ismail, Former Finance Minister of Pakistan, and a theatre performance on sustainability by Kaifiyat Collective.
Dr. Lubna Naz, Professor & Director, CBER, welcomed participants on Day 02 of CBERCON 2026, noting that moving beyond polycrisis requires research-driven solutions that connect economic resilience, climate action and inclusive growth into a pathway towards a sustainable future.

Senator Musadik Malik, Federal Minister, Ministry of Climate Change & Environmental Coordination, in his address, used the image of a kite running out of string to explain how Pakistan’s growth repeatedly stalls for lack of foreign exchange. He stressed that climate disasters must be measured in lost lives and livelihoods, not just GDP, and urged students to apply their education to the country’s challenges.
Senator Sherry Rehman, Chair, Standing Committee on Climate Change, Senate & Parliamentary Leader & Former Federal Minister of Pakistan, in her keynote “The Sun, the Self and Power in the Age of Disruption”, said Pakistan is on the front line of the shift to solar energy, estimating that renewables helped the country avoid about USD 12 billion in fossil fuel and LNG imports between 2018 and 2026. She described an emerging multipolar order in which Pakistan has positioned itself as a credible middle power, warned against leaving human decisions to algorithms, and encouraged young people, especially women, to claim a public voice.

Panel discussions examined job creation in Pakistan (with the World Bank), the role of higher education institutions in evidence-based policymaking, gender and water conflicts, populism and political stability, artificial intelligence in economic policy, and loss and damage from floods in South Asia, alongside a Grand Dialogue on trade and tariff reforms and parallel technical sessions presenting new research across both days.
Parallel technical sessions across both days gave researchers a platform to present new work on the conference theme, bringing fresh evidence to the debate on Pakistan’s economic future. The conference concluded with audience reflections, reaffirming IBA’s commitment to bringing research and policy together and to preparing the next generation to lead Pakistan beyond crisis towards a sustainable economic future.