Zubair Yaqoob Karachi
With a packed attendance of elite, the two-day 7th Edition of The Future Summit (TFS) commenced at a local hotel in Karachi. The inaugural session showcased an impressive lineup of public and corporate leadership with Mohammad Ali, Caretaker Federal Minister for Energy, Power & Petroleum; Maj Gen ShahidNazir, HI (M), Director General Strategic Projects, Pakistan Army; Farrukh Amin, CEO, Unity Foods Limited; Lasha Tabidze, Global Chief Digital Officer, VEON; Dana Al Salem, Global Tech Entrepreneur, Investor & Innovation Expert; and Amir Paracha, President, Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce & Industry (OICCI).
The 7th Edition of The Future Summit is co-hosted by Nutshell Group and HBL, and powered by Unity Foods Limited, in strategic partnership with the Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI) and Corporate Pakistan Group.
Addressing the audience, Mohammad Ali, Caretaker Federal Minister for Energy, Power & Petroleum, stated, “All of us would have different recipes to solve our problems. Policy makers cannot handle all the issues in one go.
We need to have a policy framework; research says institutions cannot fix a system without economic independence. So, the two core objectives that Pakistan needs to focus on are exports and the formalizing of the economy.”
In his welcome address, Muhammad AzfarAhsan, Founder & CEO, Nutshell Group & Pakistan’s Minister of State for Investment (2021-22), highlighted the role of platforms like TFS for strengthening Pakistan’s image and thanked all the collaborators for believing in the vision for the country’s future.
Amir Paracha, President, OICCI, advocated the importance of creating a conducive business environment. He said, “The challenges of today will be the opportunities of tomorrow and we have witnessed the unwavering dedication of international investors in the past years.
The population we view as a liability, especially our youth population, is our asset, which will pay dividends in the future.” Farrukh Amin, CEO, Unity Foods Limited, said, “Pakistan has survived massive economic challenges; be it the post-COVID crisis or the floods in 2022. I believe Pakistan has the potential to be a part of The Big Picture because we are the world’s largest producer of rice, cotton, wheat, and various other natural resources.
