Dr Reza Baqir has assumed the charge of governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) after president of Pakistan appointed him to the post for a period of three years, according to a statement issued by the central bank.
Dr Baqir has 18 years of experience with the IMF and two years with the World Bank. He was the head of the IMF’s office in Egypt and senior resident representative since August 2017. He has also held positions as IMF mission chief for Romania and Bulgaria, division chief of the IMF’s Debt Policy Division, head of the IMF delegation to the Paris Club, deputy division chief of the IMF’s Emerging Markets Division, IMF resident representative to the Philippines, and numerous other positions.
Dr Baqir’s research has been published in top journals of the economics profession, including the Journal of Political Economy and the Quarterly Journal of Economics. He holds a PhD in economics from the University of California at Berkeley and an AB (Magna cum Laude) in economics from Harvard University, according to the SBP press statement.
Meanwhile, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan on Sunday said Dr Baqir is pride of Pakistan. She said Dr Baqir has joined Prime Minister Imran Khan’s finance team to steer the country out of the economic crisis. He has tendered his resignation from the IMF to serve Pakistan, she added.
“The opposition wanted to close the doors on intelligent Pakistanis working in prestigious international institutions, to serve their motherland. However, it is the ‘Naya Pakistan’ of Prime Minister Imran Khan, which acknowledges their capabilities,” she said. “Those who sunk the country in a deep quagmire of problems for over three decades are perturbed over the resignation of former SBP governor,” she added.