KARACHI ? Nutshell Group and Martin Dow Group hosted the 5th edition of Pakistan’s largest corporate event ‘The Future Summit’ with at a local hotel.
Governor of Sindh, Imran Ismail addressing the Future Summit lauded the working of SBP under the leadership of Dr Reza Baqir. Referring to the government decision to not go for lockdown during coronavirus pandemic the governor said, “Whatever decision Imran Khan takes, at first it seems to be unrealistic or incorrect but later it proves to be right in all the aspects.”
Governor State Bank Of Pakistan, Dr Reza Baqir while addressing to The Future Summit said “it’s a moment of great pride for Pakistan that it has been able to control Covid very successfully. We have been able to keep the number of new cases, number of deaths and the positivity ratio per million at a very low level When compared with some of our neighboring countries and global averages. .”
Dr. Reza Baqir appreciated the efforts of NCOC (National Command and Control Center) and the initiative of Ehsaas Cash Program which played a vital role in providing cash transfers to the poor in a timely and targeted manner during Covid pandemic. Governor SBP also said that amid the coronavirus pandemic, the World Bank, ADB and other international financial institutions have also praised the initiative of Ehsaas Cash Program.
Highlighting the economic dimension of the successes during Covid, Governor Baqir elaborated that despite the coronavirus surge, Pakistan’s Debt to GDP ratio declined during the last two years as compared to other countries where the same ratio increased due to fiscal spending.
SBP Governor said that the gross foreign exchange reserves increased significantly to over US$17.7 billion at end December 2021, which were US$7.3 billion at end June 2019. Dr. Baqir emphasized that the strengthened economic fundamentals, as demonstrated by the reduced debt-to-GDP ratio and higher gross reserves, will help sustain the balance of payments through the current cycle of escalated global commodity prices. Adding further he said that these successes became possible due to the proactive management by the economic managers of the country right from the top level of Prime Minister to Finance Minister and other organizations including the SBP. Speaking on the occasion, Chairman Martin Dow Group, Ali Akhai said,
“This Summit comes at an opportune time when the global playing field has a new environment with new rules. The Summits’ theme – “What’s Coming Next” is possibly the most important subject for the next 10 years, as it addresses life in the new world as we know it. There’s a lot to debate, and even more, to accept the realization of change.”
Ali Akhai also said, “Today, after 2 years of the pandemic, the change continues, and has become a constant part of the new normal. Importantly What’s Coming Next, is a higher standard of competition in quality, localisation, consolidation, digitization, adaptability, and of course, rapid & constant change.”
Former Chief of Pakistan Air Force, Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman who is also the Chief Executive Strategic Engagements of Nutshell Group in his address at The Future Summit said that nothing will happen by just discussing the existing problems, better is to go for a rational solution to the crises.
Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman also said that “Greater the challenges are, bigger is the opportunity and it is the need of the hour to exhilarate the impetus of motivation among the organizational workforce as they will take your companies to the ultimate success.
“Collective efforts and mutual coordination is required to tackle the rising impact of the Omicron Variant”, the former PAF Chief said and added that employee empowerment in the organization is mandatory and this objective could be attained by selecting the right person for the right job.”
President and CEO, Engro Corporation Ghias Khan while expressing his views during a dialogue session with CEO Jaffer Business Systems Pvt Ltd, Mr Veqar ul Islam at The Future Summit said “The structured issues of Pakistan remained same in the recent years, but due to the unending wave of covid it augmented to a much higher level.”
He also said that “Technology has driven much of the segments of businesses; presence of technology and acceptance of a hybrid world is a good omen. We cannot progress unless we are fully capable of selling our services to the entire world by increasing the exports level and regional connectivity.”
Former Governor SBP and Chairperson Pakistan Stock Exchange, Dr Shamshad Akhtar said ‘’Climate Change needs immense attention from the global world. She expressed her concern that the share of public expenditure for tackling climate change is not adequate.
Dr Shamshad Akhtar said we need to devise effective strategies for managing the changing impact of climate and must develop a robust financing network to deal with its consequences systematically.
Former Governor SBP also said that infrastructure development is a very important presence. Pakistan needs to double its GDP ratio for infrastructural development and we need to utilize alternative sources of energy and the right taxation schemes will prove to be fruitful in near future.
President and CEO Faysal Bank Yousaf Hussain speaking at The Future Summit said that we need to realize customer needs and requirements of the workforce. Empathy along with speed of the change and the external partnership is very important.
CEO K-Electric, Syed Moonis Alvi speaking on the occasion said, “We need to tell Karachiites that the ‘K’ in K Electric is not Karachi, it actually explicates ‘Kinetic’. KE’s jurisdiction is beyond the scope of the Karachi itself and so its dominion for power generation is automatically much larger. The future is digital. The power utility has come a long way in incorporating this aspect on a routine basis and the KE app is a testament to that – a model that should be emulated by other DISCOS nationally”
“In the coming few years 25% of all power generation will be drawn from renewable resources. KE is a strong advocate of such a move as this will stimulate a reduction in carbon emissions”, KE CEO added.
Nutshell Group and Martin Dow Group would like to extend their heartfelt gratitude to their partners and sponsors Engro Corporation, Siemens, SAP, K-Electric, Faysal Bank, Habib Metropolitan Bank, HBL, JS Bank, PharmEvo & Ehad, NBP Funds, Al Meezan Investment Management Ltd, Hilton Pharma, CMS, NdcTech, Jaffer Business Systems, Bluetech Consulting, Hysab Kytab, OICCI, CPG, Institute of Business Management and ACCA.
The Nutshell Group’s initiative of holding extensive business summits in the previous years has received immense appreciation from the government, corporate, private and public sectors, as well as the civil society, and aims to expand the scope of this conference at the regional level in coming years.
