Energy Security and Economic Sustainability: The Way Forward (The Presidential Address)

Honourable Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms and Chancellor PIDE, Past Presidents and Distinguished Members of the Society, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, It is my pleasure to welcome you all to the 29th Annual General Meeting and Conference of the Pakistan Society of Development Economists. On behalf of the members of the PSDE, I would like to thank you, Honourable Prof. Ahsan Iqbal for having spared your precious time to open this important meeting. I would also like to especially thank our members and guests who have come from different parts of the country and from different continents to participate in the Conference. We are extremely pleased to see here today many young students— Pakistan’s future economists and business leaders—who I am sure are enthusiastic to learn from the many leading specialists attending this Conference on the critical issue of ‘Energy’ that we in Pakistan face today. Let me join Dr Durr-e-Nayab in especially welcoming Dr Ilhan Ozturk, Professor at the Çağ Üniversitesi in Turkey who will be delivering the The Mahbub Ul Haq Memorial Lecture. Dr Prof. Zhaoguang Hu, Vice-President and Chief Energy Specialist at the State Grid Energy Research Institute in Beijing who will deliver Gustav Ranis Lecture. Professor Mohan Munasinghe, Chairman of the Munasinghe Institute of Development, Sri Lanka who will be delivering The Allama Iqbal Lecture and Dr Rajendra K. Pachauri, Chief Executive of the Energy and Resources Institute, New Dehli who will deliver The Quaid-i-Azam Lecture this year