Speakers for firm action to deal with economic, environmental challenges

KARACHI: The 8th edition of ‘The Future Summit’ commenced with a packed hall at a hotel here in Karachi. Farrukh Amin, Chief Executive Officer, Unity Foods Limited and Muhammad Azfar Ahsan, Founder & Chairman, Nutshell Group welcomed the audience.

The inaugural session featured an impressive lineup of speakers including Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb, Federal Minister for Finance & Revenue; Dr Shamshad Akhtar, Chairperson, Pakistan Stock Exchange Ltd; Yousaf Hussain, President, OICCI and President & CEO, Faysal Bank Limited; Dr Bakheet Ateeq Al Rumaithi, Consul General of the UAE; and Augie K Fabela II, Founder & Chairman, Board of Directors, VEON.

The speakers focused on the main theme of the conference and shared their diverse views.

In his welcome address, Farrukh emphasized, “What matters now is an economically stable Pakistan. Actions to make Pakistan food secure is what matters. Let us drive Pakistan to a future where food security and sustainability are not just words but actual parameters of success.”

Azfar, while reiterating the urgency for partnerships and collaborations, stated, “There is a dire need for collaboration. Private companies should focus on B2B partnerships, and the government should focus on creating an enabling environment.”

Federal Minister for Finance & Revenue, Senator Aurangzeb, highlighted, “We have seen progress in macroeconomic stability, with twin deficits turning into surpluses, stable currency, improved forex reserves, and declining inflation and policy rates.”

Addressing the global perspective for Pakistan, Yousaf said, “OICCI is focused on technology. We have Cloud First Philosophy. Data privacy, global AI standards, and risk management are our priorities.”

Climate & Sustainability, requiring urgent attention, was a significant sub-theme of the Summit. Exploring the same in her keynote address, Dr Shamshad said, “Pakistan ranks 27th among countries least prepared to tackle climate change. Climate-related risks range from 1.2% to 4%. Billions of dollars are required for infrastructure repair and reconstruction due to environmental damage.”

Dr Bakheet words resonated with positivity and enthusiasm, “Pakistan has the best products. We need to add value to these commodities and increase profits for the Pakistani businessmen. Think, plan, and act!”

Commenting on the potential of Pakistan to become globally competitive, Augie stated, “Veon’s soon to open global Head office in Islamabad is a testament to Pakistan’s story of success, Jazz is honoured to be here.”

Talking about sustainability and climate solutions, Sadia Dada, Chief Distribution & Marcomms Officer, K-Electric said, “K-Electric was the first company to publish gender pay gap ratio and is committed to 30 by 30 - reduce 20 percent emissions by 2030 and ensure 30 percent of power supply to come from renewable resources.”

Dr Reza, elaborating on ‘What Matters Now’, said, “Pakistan has faced long-standing fiscal challenges due to a narrow tax base, untargeted government subsidies, and inefficient SOEs. Home grown economic development solutions are necessary as evident from different global examples.”

Saquib Ahmad, Managing Director, SAP Pakistan, Iraq, Bahrain & Afghanistan, moderated the panel discussion, Talk Amongst Titans.

Kaan Terzioglu, Group Chief Executive Officer, VEON, said, “It’s been three decades that Pakistan has trusted Veon for its telecommunications infrastructure and over these 30 years, Veon has invested 10.7 billion dollars in this beautiful country and we wish to continue with our investment, Pakistan Zindabad!”

Talking of the rising need of vocational training, Syed Amir Ali, Deputy CEO, Meezan Bank Limited, commented on the high demand for skilled workers worldwide. Skilled workforce, he said will contribute to the country’s economic growth through substantial remittances.

With reference to economy, Ahmad Mobeen, Senior Economist-Asia Pacific, S&P Global Market Intelligence, shared his content on the stabilizing trend of the Pakistan economy but insisted on fiscal reforms for sustainable growth.

William Bao Bean, Managing General Partner, Orbit Startups Jimmy Nguyen, Founder & CEO, New Win Global and Senior Advisor, Prism Carbon Solutions LLC; Dr Yanan WU, CFA, Chairman/CEO, Surfin Meta Digital Technologies Pte Ltd (Singapore) and Meta Fund Investment Management Pte Ltd (Singapore); Fama Asad-Said, Chief Executive Officer, Abacus Abdul Haseeb, Managing Director, TMC Private Limited; Usman Yousuf, Director, Nutshell Communications; Regional Entrepreneur & Investor; Faisal Mohammed Al Shimmari, Head of ESG & Corporate Strategy, Mashreq; Ede Borbely, Vice President, Bankers without Boundaries (BwB); Maheen Rahman, Chief Executive Officer, InfraZamin Pakistan; Amir Shehzad, Executive Director, Unity Foods Limited; Dr Fama Khushnud, Executive Director, Pakistan Environment Trust; Philip Skinner, Head of Middle East, North Africa & Pakistan, GuarantCo and Origination Lead for Nature, Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG); Andrew Bailey, Managing Director, BASF Pakistan; Ayla Majid, ACCA’s Global Deputy President and Founder & CEO, Planetive; Matteo Scalabrino, Associate, Bankers without Boundaries (BwB); Sadia Dada, Chief Distribution & Marcomms Officer, K-Electric; Sajjeed Aslam, Partner, SpectrEco LLC, USA; Prof Michael Sung, Chairman, Carbon Blue Innovations & Horizen Digital and Founding Director, Institute of Digital Finance Innovation, Zhejiang International Business School; Michael Clark, Futurist & Ex Global Head of Digital Transformation, Mastercard also expressed their views during the various sessions of ‘The Future Summit’.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024