Moot on regional economic integration opens at AERC

The students should not hesitate to ask questions for gaining knowledge. They must adopt a habit of asking questions whether they are attending a lecture in a classroom or participating as the audience in conferences or workshops.

All those who are present in this inaugural session and will attend the following sessions must clear their thoughts and logic by asking questions. One should not be shy to raise questions as the students are going to provide knowledge-based workers in the future.

These views were expressed by former State Bank of Pakistan governor Dr Ishrat Husain at the inaugural session of a three-day long International Conference on “Central Asian Regional Economic Integration and CPEC: Challenges and the Way Forward”, which kicked off at Professor Salimuzzaman Siddiqui Auditorium, HEJ, University of Karachi, on Tuesday.

Hussain, who is an adviser to the prime minister on institutional reforms and austerity, he said the KU’s role was unforgettable as it always produced noted scholars and provided a platform for thought-provoking debates and analyses on the core issues of the country.

He informed the audience that the Applied Economics Research Centre (AERC) was established in the early 1970s with a goal to have an implication on the society rather than just an academic centre.

KU Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Muhammad Ajmal Khan, while sharing his vision, said that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor was very important for both countries and the main objective of the conference was to debate and design all those development policies and strategies that could help in understanding the issues pertaining to regional economic integration of the Central Asian countries and the game changer project, CPEC.

The current situation and the era of globalisation had set some benchmarks in various fields of applied economics, but at the same time Central Asia and Pakistan were facing lots of challenges to achieve economic sustainability, he said.

Earlier, Dr Uzma Iram of the AERC mentioned that this conference would cover the economic aspects of regional connectivity and the CPEC with a focus on very fundamental issues and the goal of the conference was to bring together a multi-disciplinary group of experts and researchers to present and exchange breakthrough ideas relating to regional connectivity.

AERC Director Professor Dr Samina Khalil hoped that this event would serve as a catalyst for developing understanding and highlighting the importance of international cooperation of Pakistan with the neighbouring countries and also those who were close to us in the region.

Dr Guoliang Wu, Unit Head, CAREC, Asian Development Bank, Manila, Philippines, said that the unique geographic, demographic and economic characteristics of the Central Asian countries made it imperative to pursue regional integration and cooperation if they were to integrate globally.

He mentioned that Pakistan and Central Asia had shared a geo-cultural affinity and a long tradition of historical contacts. He said the CPEC as the flagship component of the Belt Road Initiative provided a great opportunity serving as a catalyst to further boost the economic, social and cultural ties between Pakistan and the Central Asian countries.