Dr Ishrat urges public and private sectors' cooperation to meet economic challenges

SUKKUR: Adviser to Prime Minister for Institutional Reforms and Austerity, Dr Ishrat Hussain has emphasised the need for collaboration and cooperation among public and private sectors and civil society for overcoming economic challenges.

Addressing the South Asian Management Forum (SAMF), on theme of "Challenges of Inclusive Growth and Sustainability: the South Asian Context", here on Tuesday, he said despite all the progress South Asia's economy has made, there are still "challenges ahead of us and we still have the largest number of poor in this region as we have growing inequalities".

Business and management education can play a pivotal role to resolve these challenges, he added.

The event was organised by Sukkur IBA University in collaboration with the Association of Management Development Institutions of South Asia (AMDISA) and Association of Management Development Institutions in Pakistan (AMDIP).

Dr. Ishrat Hussain explained the importance of employee retention in a business organisation and suggested that organisations should not lay off learned and experienced employees by keeping short-term goals in view instead their efforts should be directed toward continuous effectness.

Vice Chancellor, Sukkur IBA University, Prof. Nisar Ahmed Siddique in his inaugural address, said the major challenges posed to the education systems in SAARC countries include globalisation, emergence of technology, population growth and shortage of water, environmental issues and capitalism, as capitalism leads to unjust distribution of wealth.

He further said this conference intends to provide the solutions to all these challenges and issues. He expressed his gratitude to Syed Qaim Ali Shah, former chief minister of Sindh and chief guest of the conference, for support in building Sukkur IBA University as a prestigious institution of quality education.

The key objective of the conference was to provide a platform to scholars, researchers, academicians, practitioners and business leaders to share their thoughts, ideas, solutions, conceptualisation of ideas and empirical evidence.

A talk for the review of the book titled "The Economy of Modern Sindh" authored by Dr. Ishrat Hussain, Aijaz A. Qureshi and Nadeem Hussain was also organised by Sukkur IBA University.

The two-day conference included five panel discussions on topics like inclusive growth, local entrepreneurship, SAQS accreditation etc.

There were also parallel sessions in which researchers from all over South Asia presented their research work related to the theme of the conference.

Delegates from various countries including Sri Lanka and Maldives, participated. Deans, directors and vice chancellors from reputable institutes of Pakistan also participated in the Vice Chancellor Forum and discussed the role of AMDISA and AMDIP in inclusive growth and business education.

Prof Lakshman R Watawala (past president AMDISA), Dr. Farrukh Iqbal (chairman NBEAC & Director IBA Karachi), Ravi Bamunusinghe (Management Consultant, PIM Sri Lanka), Dr. TughralYamin (associate dean, CIPS NUST) Shaifque Ahmed, Commissioner Sukkur and other dignitaries from all walks of life attended the event.