Co-Chairman Pathfinder Group Zarrar Sehgal: I would like to welcome you on behalf of the Pathfinder Group to the annual Pakistan Breakfast at Davos. Obviously we had to take a two-year break because of the pandemic but this has been an annual feature at Davos, going back many decades where we had the pleasure to host Benazir Bhutto as well, and we’ve had the honor to host the Pakistani leaders every year. Pathfinder Group invested in people, hired more people and gave bonuses, in fact, to our staff as well.
A lot of their hard work, you can see some of the staff that’s here as well, in putting this together. I think there’s a lot to do. We have a large unbanked population that we’re trying to get into the ambit of banking, we have a number of senior bankers over here from Pakistan and we do want to push; there’s a youth explosion in Pakistan that needs to be brought into the financial system for various different needs. I think the WEF will play a critical role over there alongside the private and the public enterprise.
I think what struck me is, in some ways when you look at Pakistan and forgive me if people have heard it before, most of our population, almost 65 percent is under 30; that is both a potential dividend for the world and also a potential issue. I think somebody like our Foreign Minister comes in to representing that youth of Pakistan. In some ways you’re in sync, that’s why I don’t want to talk about legacy and what happened 20 years ago because I think the idea is, Pakistan is at a crossroads right now, it’s at a precipice, it is a country that is screaming for investment, infrastructure, energy.
I could talk about the startup scene that’s in Pakistan, over 300 billion invested in startups last year, over a 100 million in the first three months of this year alone, and this is a drop in the ocean. If I tell somebody that this is how much the Pakistan start-up scene is they’ll be like why isn’t there more, and I think this is where somebody like you plays a critical role.
I’ve been personally impressed by your track record, in some ways although you’re a modern politician but you’re also a throwback to the old social democrat, you believe in a strong social net, you believe in protection for the poor, you have been very vocal on the protection of minorities in Pakistan and that is part of the fundamental vision of our founder. The protection of minorities was critical to his vision of Pakistan. There is a reason our flag is what it is, so for me all those elements make me very excited about the future.
Another area you have been extremely productive in is women rights, there may be that your maternal background comes into play as well but you’ve been very positive about human rights. You’ve talked about the role of female empowerment, female education and how critical that is to the growth of Pakistan, not just of women but just the whole country as well.
There is 50 percent of the population that is waiting to be productive for Pakistan and I think this is where you can make a real difference. I’ll let you talk about foreign policy yourself and this is obviously why you are at the WEF among other reasons. But I did want to highlight these things because to me it’s a combination of your socio-economic vision with your protection of minorities, and also you’ve been a constant defender of the freedom of the press even though sometimes the press is not very kind to you but you have constantly, and I really appreciate that you stand up for press freedom, you’ve spoken out against censorship in all ways, it’s not easy because we’re all human, sometimes we can delve into it when we hear criticism on us, but to your credit you’ve always defended the press as well and I appreciate that.
I’d like to just acknowledge a few people who also spent their time and effort to come. Obviously, the Chief Minister of Sindh, the members of the Sindh government, thank you very much as well. We’re very optimistic about the potential of Sindh, we think there is massive potential for infrastructure development, for development in the energy sector, roads, rail etc. I think there’s tremendous potential, you’re doing a fabulous job. I’d like to also acknowledge our Federal Minister Sherry Rehman, thank you very much. You obviously talked about an issue that is near and dear to all our hearts, climate change, I know the coal issue is sensitive.
I’d like to acknowledge Ross Perot Jr., a friend of Pakistan, he’s been a constant friend throughout all our Pakistan breakfasts’ as well so thank you very much for coming.
I know he does not want me to acknowledge him but my father Ikram Sehgal, you know, it’s weird, he’s my father so I can’t say too much but I’ve never met a businessman so less interested in a return on investment. At some point, the definition of profit is very different at the Pathfinder Group. but I want to acknowledge all his tireless efforts, all my family members, my mother, my sister Nefer, my family members, my wife Kashmala who couldn’t be here and Ali Akhai’s wife as well, our better halves couldn’t come because of school and other reasons, they could not make it so I want to acknowledge them as well. Thank you very much.
We really appreciate it, this was an enlightening experience for all of us. Thank you again for coming. I’d like to thank the members of the Pathfinder Group also who worked tirelessly to put this event together, unseen at the back. I would like to thank Martin Dow for co-hosting it.
I believe in Pakistan. I believe in the potential of Pakistan. I believe there are so many elements of Pakistan that we haven’t even spoken about at a forum like this that are vibrant, we have an art scene that is second to none. We export art; whether it be in music, whether it be in paintings, sculptures, dramas, I mean you name it. We have an unbanked population that is screaming to be part of the financial sector that will be a force multiplier with elements in the State Bank, like the Asaan Mobile Account and so forth. We have an agricultural sector which by the way, we can yield crops at a much higher level when you compare them to what’s happening abroad.
To your point, we cannot just be food sufficient but be food exporters, we have an industrial sector that with the right investment can boom. We also have other elements that are owned by the state that can be privatized. I think absolutely, there is a lot of potential in Pakistan that remains untapped. With that, thank you again. Pakistan Zindabad.
