Ahsan seeks strategic partnerships with US institutions to advance Pakistan’s knowledge economy

BOSTON (USA), July 16 (APP): Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal has sought strategic partnerships with leading American universities, research centres and innovation institutions to strengthen Pakistan’s higher education, research, climate resilience and innovation ecosystem, saying the country was committed to building a knowledge-based economy through global collaboration.

During a series of high-level engagements in Boston, the minister met academic leaders, researchers and innovation experts at Boston University, the Harvard Kennedy School’s Growth Lab, J-PAL and the Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC) to explore cooperation in higher education, public policy, economic transformation, climate resilience and technology commercialization.

At Boston University, Ahsan met Prof. Adil Najam and Vice President for Research Dr. Ken Lutchen to discuss expanding academic cooperation and strengthening Pakistan’s human capital through advanced research partnerships.

He briefed the participants on the government’s flagship US-Pakistan Knowledge Corridor initiative, launched to enable 10,000 Pakistani scholars to pursue PhD studies at the world’s leading universities. He proposed a collaborative framework under which Pakistani doctoral researchers could undertake research at top American universities on Pakistan’s priority development challenges, with the institutions facilitating tuition support while Pakistan bears logistical expenses.

The proposal was welcomed, with both sides expressing interest in exploring the partnership further.

“The strength of the United States lies in the strength of its universities. Pakistan is committed to building a knowledge-based economy by investing in quality education, research and innovation through partnerships with world-class institutions,” the minister said.

He also highlighted Pakistan’s efforts to expand higher education enrolment and noted that the country was among the few nations that co-financed the Fulbright scholarship programme, resulting in one of the largest cohorts of Pakistani students studying in the United States.

He stressed Pakistan’s interest in learning from American universities about integrating artificial intelligence into higher education, particularly in curriculum development, teaching methodologies and student assessment.

At Boston University’s Institute for Global Sustainability and the Global Development Policy Center, Ahsan met Dr. Benjamin Sovacool and Dr. William Kring to discuss climate resilience, sustainable development and research collaboration.

Highlighting Pakistan’s vulnerability to climate change despite contributing less than one percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, he recalled the devastating 2022 floods and underlined the need for research-driven adaptation and resilience strategies.

He invited Boston University to collaborate with Pakistan in identifying climate vulnerabilities, strengthening biodiversity conservation, promoting clean energy transition and exploring innovative financing mechanisms for climate adaptation.

The discussions also explored institutional collaboration between the Institute for Global Sustainability, the Global Development Policy Center and the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) to promote evidence-based policymaking on climate resilience and sustainable development.

Later, at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Growth Lab, the minister invited the institution to partner with the government under the URAAN Pakistan initiative in developing a comprehensive growth strategy to help achieve the vision of transforming Pakistan into a one-trillion-dollar economy by 2035.

The discussions focused on Pakistan’s macroeconomic challenges, export competitiveness, fiscal reforms, industrial policy, trade strategy and productivity enhancement. Ahsan said Pakistan was seeking practical policy recommendations and implementation support to strengthen exports, develop industrial clusters, improve supply chains and achieve the national target of increasing exports to US$100 billion by 2035.

“Pakistan’s next phase of growth must be driven by productivity, innovation and exports. We seek partnerships that not only diagnose our development challenges but also help us implement practical solutions for sustainable economic transformation,” he remarked.

During his visit to J-PAL, the global research centre jointly led by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the minister met Executive Director Iqbal Dhaliwal to discuss evidence-based policymaking and poverty reduction.

He shared the government’s URAAN Pakistan framework, emphasizing that investments in education, health and population management remained central to improving human development outcomes.

He also proposed an independent evaluation of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) to assess its effectiveness in enabling beneficiaries to graduate out of poverty and discussed strengthening fiscal incentives that support sustainable development.

Concluding his engagements, Ahsan visited the Cambridge Innovation Center and Venture Café, where he was briefed on one of the world’s leading innovation ecosystems connecting startups, universities, investors and industry.

Appreciating the model, he expressed Pakistan’s interest in developing similar innovation ecosystems to promote entrepreneurship, technology commercialization and startup growth.

The minister reaffirmed the government’s commitment to strengthening partnerships with leading American academic and research institutions to build Pakistan’s human capital, accelerate innovation and support the country’s transition towards a competitive, knowledge-driven economy under the vision of URAAN Pakistan.