Economists conference gets underway

PESHAWAR: The 35th Annual General Meeting and four-day conference of the Pakistan Society of Development Economists (PSDE), on “Opportunities to Excel: Now & the Future”, formally began in the IMSciences Peshawar here on Monday.

The Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE), in collaboration with the Institute of Management Sciences (IMSciences) has hosted the moot. The AGM and Conferences of the PSDE was inaugurated by Muhammad Aurangzeb, President and CEO of HBL.

The conference is being sponsored by the World Bank Group, CPEC Centre of Excellence, the Bank of Punjab, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES), Gul Ahmed Textile Mills Limited, NPO Pakistan, HBL, PPAF, Saif Group of Companies, PMIC, and the Bank of Khyber.

Dr. Nadeem Ul Haq, Vice-Chancellor of PIDE and president of the PSDE, in his presidential address, expressed his gratitude for the overwhelming participation and magnanimous support from IMSciences.He said the returns to education in Pakistan are very low, as 50 per cent of graduates with a university degree do not gain much by getting higher education.

The question then arises, what are the opportunities that we are offering to our youth. These factors are resulting in highly discouraged workers and significant dropout rates. The PIDE vice-chancellor apprised the audience that according to PIDE research, the government’s footprint on the economy is approximately 60-80 per cent.

In his inaugural address, Muhammad Aurangzeb, President and CEO HBL, said coming all the way from Karachi just to attend this conference is worth it, he remarked.Earlier, in his welcome address, Dr Muhammad Mohsin Khan, IMSciences Peshawar Director, welcomed PIDE team and all the participants to the conference and assured PIDE its full support.

Dr Idrees Khawaja, secretary for PSDE, presented the secretary’s report of the PSDE. He welcomed all the participants to the 35th AGM and conference of the PSDE and PIDE, hosted in collaboration with IMSciences, Peshawar.