Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal has emphasized the need for strategic partnerships with Boston University and Harvard institutions to advance Pakistan's knowledge economy and innovation agenda.

He laid this emphasis during a series of high-level engagements with academic leaders, researchers and innovation institutions in Boston.

These engagements were aimed at strengthening Pakistan's collaboration with leading American universities in higher education, climate resilience, economic transformation, public policy and innovation.

During his visit to Boston University, the Minister met Prof. Adil Najam and Dr. Ken Lutchen, Vice President for Research, where discussions focused on expanding academic cooperation and strengthening Pakistan's human capital through advanced research partnerships.

He briefed about the Government's flagship 'US-Pakistan Knowledge Corridor" launched to enable 10,000 Pakistani scholars to pursue PhD studies at the world's leading universities.

He proposed a collaborative model under which Pakistani doctoral researchers could undertake research at top American universities on Pakistan's priority development challenges, with academic institutions facilitating tuition support while Pakistan bears logistical costs. The proposal was welcomed, and both sides expressed interest in exploring the partnership.

Ahsan Iqbal said Pakistan is committed to building a knowledge-based economy by investing in quality education, research and innovation through partnerships with world-class institutions.

He emphasized Pakistan's interest in learning from American universities on integrating artificial intelligence into higher education, particularly in curriculum development, teaching methodologies and student assessment.

At Boston University's "Institute for Global Sustainability (IGS)" and the Global Development Policy Center (GDP Center), the Minister met Dr. Benjamin Sovacool and Dr. William Kring to discuss climate resilience, sustainable development and research collaboration.

He invited Boston University to collaborate with Pakistan in identifying climate vulnerabilities, strengthening biodiversity conservation, promoting clean energy transition and exploring innovative climate adaptation financing.

The discussions also explored institutional collaboration between the Institute for Global Sustainability, the Global Development Policy Center and the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics to support evidence-based policymaking on climate resilience and sustainable development.

The Minister also visited the "Harvard Kennedy School's Growth Lab", where discussions focused on Pakistan's long-term economic transformation under the "URAAN Pakistan initiative." He invited the Growth Lab to partner with the Government in developing a comprehensive growth strategy aimed at achieving the vision of a one-trillion-dollar economy by 2035.

During his visit to J-PAL, the global research centre, jointly led by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the Minister met Executive Director Iqbal Dhaliwal to discuss evidence-based policymaking and poverty reduction.

The Minister proposed an independent evaluation of Pakistan's Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) to assess its effectiveness in poverty alleviation and discussed the importance of strengthening fiscal incentives that support sustainable development outcomes.

Concluding his engagements, Ahsan Iqbal visited the Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC) and Venture Café, where he received a briefing on one of the world's leading innovation ecosystems that connects startups, universities, investors and industry.