Karachi,
March 7 - Despite of the achievements in
the last few years, the economic growth figures
of South Asia as compared to South-east Asia are
quite abysmal and there are many parts in this region
where per capita income is even lower than Sub-Saharan
countries. Transparency is the panacea of all the
ills the people and governments of South Asian countries
are faced with in the wake of the challenges of
globalization.
These views were expressed
by Anwer Ibrahim, former deputy prime minister,
Malaysia and global strategy consultant during his
presentation on Tuesday the second day of the 10th
Management Convention of the Management Association
of Pakistan (MAP) which was launched here at a local
hotel in Karachi on 6 March.
The three-day convention is
based on the theme of "Leadership, Innovation,
Entrepreneurship", and features some of the
leading statesmen, business thinkers and management
strategists from within the region and around the
globe in many keynote addresses, presentations,
and panel discussions.
Quoting the speech of Quad-i-Azam
Mohammad Ali Jinnah at the 1947 constituent assembly,
Ibrahim said that Jinnah warned his nation of corruption
taking roots in the South Asian society and termed
it as a poison that needs to be checked and eliminated.
He emphasized that sustainable
growth is a must for equitable distribution and
was of the view that globalization is a phenomena
that can be exploited to attain economic growth
at a fast pace.
Ibrahim was of the view that
India's recent ability to attract reverse brain
drain had been instrumental in the significant rise
in its economic growth. He said that prior to India
the only country in this region to attract reverse
brain drain was Taiwan.
The second day session of
the MAP Convention featured a keynote address by
Dr Walter Keummerle on the topic of "International
Entrepreneurship", presentations by Dr Abdul
Hafeez Shaikh, Federal Minister for Privatization
an Investment on "Influencing the Entrepreneurial
Spirit", Shamsh Kassim Lakha, President, Aga
Khan University on "Human Leadership",
Mahboob Mehmood, Adjunct Professor INSEAD and CEO
Knowledge Platform, Singapore on "Creating
an Environment for Entrepreneurship", Frank
Scherschmidt, CEO, Karachi Electric Supply Corporation
(KESC) and a panel discussion on "Emerging
Geo-political Scenario and its Impact on Business".
The panel discussion comprised
Anwer Ibrahim, Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, Hussain Dawood
(Chairman, Dawood Group), Dr Ayesha Siddiqua (Geo-political
Analyst), Khalid Siddiqui (Country Manager, AC-Neilson
Pakistan) and Ahsan Iqbal Chaudhry (Former Deputy
Chairman, Planning Commission).
Lalita Gupte, Joint Managing
Director, ICICI Bank India, Hilmy Cader, CEP, MTI
Consulting, Bahrain, Zafar Osmani, Senior Executive
Vice President, Habib Bank Ltd, Dr. Terry Reilly,
Director KPMG, Singapore will be among the key speakers
on the third day and concluding of the MAP Convention.
It is also to be mentioned that Octara—a Pakistan
and UAE based event management company—is
organizing the 10th Management Convention. CNN,
Time Magazine and Oman Economic Review are the International
Media Sponsors for the Convention and ARY Digital
Network is the Official Media Partner. The sponsors
for the event include Boeing Commercial Airplanes,
USA; English Biscuit Manufacturers; Warid Telecom;
Pakistan International Airline; and Pakistan State
Oil. TCS is the official courier while the supporting
sponsors include Jehangir Siddiqui Group, Lawrencepur,
Pakistan; GlaxoSmithkline; Alfalah GHP; AKD Securities;
Samsung Electronics; KSB Pumps Company Limited;
Money Magazine; and Dot Panacea.
