Prof. Najam Moderates Discussion With Pakistan’s Finance Minister

Dr. Hafeez Shaikh – Pakistan’s Minister for Finance, Revenue, Economic Affairs & Statistics – was the guest at a special lecture on the economy and politics in Pakistan at the South Asia Initiative at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. The discussion was moderated by Prof. Adil Najam, Director of Boston University’s Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future and by Prof. Asim Khwaja from Harvard’s Kennedy School.

The session began with opening remarks from Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, which was followed by a discussion session with Prof. Adil Najam and Prof. Asim Khwaja, after which the audience also asked questions. The discussion was lively and candid and a range of major economic and development challenges before Pakistan were discussed.

Dr. Shaikh, Pakistan’s Minister for Finance, Revenue, Economic Affairs & Statistics, has over 25 years experience in policymaking, private sector and academia. His public sector record includes serving for three years the Federal Minister for Privatization and Investment. His tenure is regarded as the most successful in Pakistan’s history with 34 transactions worth $5 billion completed and annual Foreign Direct Investment increasing from $ 1 billion to $ 5 Billion. He has served as member of the Upper House, where he was member of Chairman of the Senate’s Committee on World Trade Organization. He had a highly successful tenure as Minister for Finance, Planning and Development in Sindh Province. He was the architect of the financial recovery of Sindh, restoring financial discipline, paying over $350 million of overdue bills, clearing the over draft of $185 million with the State Bankof Pakistan and increasing allocation for poverty alleviation. His private sector experience includes serving as a General Partner of a $1.38 Billion international investment company, headquartered in New York. He was the Country Head of the World Bank in Saudi Arabia and led assignments and advised more than 18 countries of Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa as a senior World Bank official. Some of these countries include Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Romania, Czech Republic, Argentina, Bangladesh, Botswana, Tanzania and Ghana. Before joining the World Bank, he worked at Harvard University. Dr. Shaikh has a Ph.D. in economics and has authored a book on Privatization in Argentina.