ISLAMABAD: The 9th edition of the Leaders in Islamabad Business Summit (LIIBS) 2026 concluded in Islamabad on Thursday with policymakers, global business leaders and experts calling for decisive action to turn Pakistan’s economic potential into sustained advantage.
Organised under the theme “The Next Move”, the summit brought together federal ministers, institutional leaders, industry executives and thought leaders for discussions on Pakistan’s future strategy across economic policy, technology and global positioning.
In his inaugural ministerial keynote, Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb said Pakistan had recorded around 3.7 per cent GDP growth in the last fiscal year, with momentum continuing into the current year.
He said large-scale manufacturing had turned around, while strong remittance inflows and IT exports were supporting the external account. “The direction of travel is clear that we need to move beyond a consumption-led growth model and build an economy supported by sustainable and productive growth,” he said.
Federal Minister and Adviser to the Prime Minister on Privatisation Muhammad Ali said Pakistan could not remain merely a consumer of technology and needed to become a creator of technology.
He said the country’s ambition should be to develop productive businesses at a scale where they could compete with global entities. He stressed the need for stronger education, equal workforce participation, and the extension of talent to manufacturing, defence and other future technologies.
Muhammad Ali said Pakistan needed cities that were more productive than congested and young people equipped with skills to participate in the country’s economic future.
Minister of State for Finance and Railways Bilal Azhar Kayani said Pakistan had capable people and needed to do better for them through structural reforms and improved governance.
He said federal and provincial governance alignment was crucial, adding that Pakistan needed to break away from the cycle of ungoverned spending followed by recourse to IMF loans. He said exports had to be increased for development and that effective policymaking was not possible without coordination with the private sector.
Kayani said the government had reduced super taxes last year and was working to ensure financing for the agriculture sector and SMEs, besides reforming institutions such as SMEDA.
In the closing session, Senator Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar, caretaker prime minister of Pakistan in 2023-24, said Pakistan’s security challenges must be addressed, but the deeper issue was structural.
He said other countries facing serious violence had continued to build large export economies. The focus, he added, should be on understanding and fixing underlying economic constraints rather than simply attributing weak growth to terrorism.
Federal Minister for Climate Change and Environmental Coordination Senator Dr Musadik Malik stressed continuity in policymaking and said policies based on elite capture always resulted in exploitation.
He called for consensus on creating a level playing field based on skills and merit-based policies. He said students from good universities should be allowed to contribute without hurdles and added that elite capture had to be changed through continued effort.
The summit examined Pakistan’s inflection point in economic policy, technology and global positioning, bringing together cross-sector perspectives to chart a way forward.
Global institutional leaders and industry executives participated in six sessions covering geopolitics and geoeconomics; business, technology and the competitive landscape; artificial intelligence and digital transformation; capital and finance; and Pakistan’s “next move”.
The second session, on “Geopolitics, Geoeconomics & Pakistan”, discussed strengthening investment confidence and climate resilience. The third session, “Business, Technology & The New Competitive Landscape”, focused on how businesses could adapt faster, build resilience, unlock new markets and create sustainable growth.
The fourth session, “AI, Digital Transformation & Economic Value”, examined the role of technology in transforming productivity, customer experiences, business models and competitive advantage. The session on “Capital, Finance & The Confidence Economy” discussed mobilisation of domestic and international capital, strengthening financial markets, creating investment opportunities and promoting long-term growth.
The closing session, titled “Pakistan’s Moment of Choice”, brought together political leadership, government, business, strategic communication and private-sector perspectives to examine Pakistan’s choices at an important stage in world history.
Speakers and participants included Lucia Real Martin, Global Executive Director, ACCA; Dr Faisal Hashmi, Senior Director Public Affairs, Sustainability and Communication, Pakistan and Afghanistan Region, The Coca-Cola Company; Aamir Ibrahim, CEO, JazzWorld and Chairman, Mobilink Bank, JazzCash and TPL Insurance; Muhammad Azfar Ahsan, Founder and Chairman, Nutshell Group and Pakistan’s former minister for investment; Simon Andrews, Regional Director, International Finance Corporation; Dr Samuel Rizk, Resident Representative Pakistan, UNDP; Andrew Bailey, Managing Director, BASF Pakistan; Maheen Rahman, CEO, InfraZamin Pakistan; Dr Ayesha K. Khan, Regional Managing Director, Acumen; Sajjeed Aslam, Partner, Sustainadility, USA; Serkan Ozturk, Chief of Staff and Strategy Officer, VEON Group; Irfan Wahab Khan, SVP, Telenor Group and Chairman, easypaisa Digital Bank; Saira Awan Malik, President, TCS Holdings; Kabeer Naqvi, Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Abhi Group; Fatima Asad-Said, CEO, ABACUS; Saquib Ahmad, Global Chief Growth Officer, Systems Limited; Haaris Mahmood Chaudhary, President and CEO, Mobilink Bank; Saqib Sabah, Managing Director Growth Market Units, SAP; Tariq Rashid, Global Telco Growth Leader, Systems Limited; Asif Ahmed, Group Chief Business Solutions Officer, PTCL; Mujeeb Zahur, Managing Director, S&P Global Pakistan; Javed Kureishi, CEO, Pakistan Business Council; Dr Amjad Waheed, CEO, NBP Funds; Mohammad Shoaib, CFA, CEO and Co-Founder, Lucky Investments; Imtiaz Gadar, CFA, CEO, Al Meezan Investment Management; Umair Aijaz, CEO, Raqami Islamic Digital Bank; ACM Sohail Aman, Pakistan’s Chief of Air Staff from 2015 to 2018 and Chief Executive Strategic Engagements, Nutshell Group; Ziad Bashir, Chairman, Pakistan Business Council; and Fahd Husain, anchor and columnist.
All distinguished speakers were presented a copy of “Syed Babar Ali: A Centennial Tribute”, authored by Muhammad Azfar Ahsan.
LIIBS 2026 concluded with the understanding that Pakistan’s opportunity lies not in waiting for certainty, but in acting decisively on reforms, capital, technology and partnerships already within reach.
