Daily Times

The C100 Think Tank – one of Pakistan’s largest think tanks working towards actionable socioeconomic policy initiatives – brought together the country’s top corporate leadership for a dialogue on shaping the future of Pakistan. The event was held at a local hotel in Karachi where the thought leaders exchanged views on steps Pakistan must take to become a strong and confident upper middle-income country by the time it turns 100 years old in 2047.

The event opened with the remarks of President & MD C100 Think Tank, Mr. Zeshan Afzal who assured the audience that C100 Think Tank will make all possible efforts to ensure that Pakistan achieves its dream of becoming a $2 trillion economy by the year 2047. This was followed by a brief presentation of a recent World Bank report titled ‘Pakistan@100: Shaping the Future’ by Mr. Mr. Patchamuthu Illangovan – Country Director for Pakistan at World Bank and talks by Mr. Shabih Ali Mohib – Program Leader for World Bank and Mr. Hans Timmer – Chief Economist for South Asia Region. The event concluded with a panel discussion moderated by Mr. Zeshan Afzal while the panelists included such prominent figures as Mr. Patchamuthu Illangovan – Country Director for Pakistan, World Bank, Mr. Shabih Ali Mohib – Program Leader for World Bank, Mr. Hans Timmer – Chief Economist for South Asia Region, Mr. Munir Kamal – CEO KSBL & Former Chairman PSX, NBP, Mr. Kamran Nasir – CEO JS Global, Mr. Atif Bajwa – Former President & CEO Bank Alfalah, and Ms. Moneeza Butt – Partner KPMG.

Sharing his views on the event, Zeshan Afzal, President & MD C100, said: “We realize that after 70 years of its creation, Pakistan is still mired in such challenges as weak economy, population spurt, poverty, and environmental degradation. Resolving these challenges could take Pakistan to a $2 trillion economy by the year 2047. This calls for dialogues like the one we are having here today with top corporate leaders of the country exchanging views on how to rise to the challenges ahead and usher in a period of reform that transforms Pakistan’s socioeconomic outlook. We will be working closely with the World Bank and Pakistan’s corporate leadership to encourage such dialogue across the country.”

The talk largely centered on the findings of a recent report titled ‘Pakistan@100: Shaping the Future’, a major component of The Pakistan@100 Initiative which is a World Bank effort to engender more vibrant policy debates on what the future should hold for Pakistan. The Pakistan@100 Report is meant to provide an overview of major issues that Pakistan has to grapple within the coming decades. The Pakistan@100 initiative seeks to identify the main changes that will be necessary if Pakistan is to become a strong and confident upper middle-income country by the time it turns 100 years old in 2047. C100 and World Bank look to further this partnership and work together towards creating meaningful impact economically and socially for Pakistan.

“Accelerating and sustaining Pakistan’s growth over a 30-year period is ambitious, but possible,” said Patchamuthu Illangovan, World Bank Country Director for Pakistan. “The World Bank is committed to working with the government of Pakistan and other stakeholders in the country to advance the necessary reforms so that Pakistan can significantly increase growth and sustain it.”

Being one of Pakistan’s largest think tanks, C100 looks to highlight, assist and take actionable steps towards understanding and creating an impact on the social, economic landscape of the country. This initiative recognizes over 400 corporate executives of Pakistan, many of whom are heading multibillion companies, and that represent various local and multinational corporations working in Pakistan. The main objective of C100 is to use the corporate sector to combine its cumulative intellect and suggest key policy changes (Taxation, Capital Markets, Governance, Islamic Banking, Education, EODB and International Relations) for betterment of socioeconomic development of Pakistan.

Published in Daily Times, March 26^th 2019.