BOSTON: Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal has called for strategic alliances with Boston University and Harvard institutions to advance Pakistan’s knowledge economy and innovation agenda. During high-level meetings in Boston, he emphasized the importance of collaboration in higher education, climate resilience, economic transformation, public policy, and innovation.

According to Radio Pakistan, Iqbal’s engagements aimed to enhance Pakistan’s ties with leading American universities. At Boston University, he met with Prof. Adil Najam and Dr. Ken Lutchen to discuss expanding academic cooperation and strengthening Pakistan’s human capital through research partnerships. Iqbal highlighted the ‘US-Pakistan Knowledge Corridor,’ a government initiative to enable 10,000 Pakistani scholars to pursue doctoral studies at top universities worldwide. He proposed a collaborative model where Pakistani researchers could study at American universities, a proposal welcomed by both parties.

Iqbal stressed Pakistan’s commitment to building a knowledge-based economy through quality education and research. He expressed interest in learning from American universities about integrating artificial intelligence into higher education, particularly in curriculum development and teaching methodologies.

At Boston University’s Institute for Global Sustainability and the Global Development Policy Center, Iqbal met with Dr. Benjamin Sovacool and Dr. William Kring. They discussed climate resilience, sustainable development, and research collaboration. Iqbal invited the university to work with Pakistan on identifying climate vulnerabilities and exploring clean energy transition.

Discussions with the Harvard Kennedy School’s Growth Lab focused on Pakistan’s economic transformation under the “URAAN Pakistan initiative.” Iqbal invited the Growth Lab to help develop a growth strategy aimed at achieving a one-trillion-dollar economy by 2035.

In meetings at J-PAL, a research center led by Harvard and MIT, Iqbal discussed evidence-based policymaking and poverty reduction with Executive Director Iqbal Dhaliwal. He proposed an evaluation of Pakistan’s Benazir Income Support Programme to assess its impact on poverty alleviation.

Concluding his visit, Iqbal toured the Cambridge Innovation Center and Venture Café, receiving a briefing on the innovation ecosystem connecting startups, universities, investors, and industry.