ISLAMABAD: A day after the passage of the 26th Amendment to the Constitution, various key ministers including deputy prime minister and foreign minister, finance minister and interior minister left the federal capital for abroad to attend official meetings.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar left for Samoa to attend a two-day Commonwealth heads of government and ministerial meeting opening on Oct 25.

Finance Minister Senator Muham­mad Aurangzeb left for Washington to attend meetings with officials of IMF and the World Bank on Sunday night immediately after the passage of bill by the Senate, while Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi reached Istanbul to participate in SAHA Expo 2024.

At the same time, Mini­s­ter for Industries and Natio­nal Food Security Rana Ta­­nveer Hussain left for Riy­a­­dh to participate in the Mu­­ltilateral Industrial Policy Forum, opening on Wednesday.

PPP chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari also left the federal capital immediately after the passage of the bill for Dubai.

Deputy PM Dar, ministers for interior, industries and food security, as well as Bilawal, all go abroad

It appeared that the ministers had already planned their visits abroad but their presence in the parliament during voting was crucial for the passage of the bill, and as soon as the bill was passed, they left the country.

The Riyadh Forum is being organised by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) to discuss innovative approaches and develop actionable solutions for industrial development challenges.

Minister for Industries and National Food Security, Rana Tanveer Hussain will represent the country at the two-day conference that will be guided by the motto ‘Making Industrial Policy Work for SDGs’. The forum will focus on advancing effective industrial policy solutions and tools to tackle sustainable industrialisation challenges.

During the course of the forum, Mr Tanveer will me­­­et Saudi Minister for In­­dustry and Mineral Resou­r­ces Bandar Ibrahim AlKho­rayef to discuss avenues of collaboration between the two countries in the industrial field. On the sidelines of the forum, he will also meet delegations of other participating countries.

The UNIDO’s Multi­lat­e­ral Indust­rial Policy Forum (MIPF) 2024 marks a significant step in advancing effective and actionable industrial policy solutions for sustainable industrialisation.

MIPF 2024 will focus on showcasing successful industrial policy initiatives, allowing stakeholders to present innovative industrial development approa­ches; promoting dialogue on actionable solutions for regional challenges; and facilitate engaging and interactive discussions. The forum reflects a renewed global interest in industrial policy as a crucial driver of societal well-being, environmental sustainability, and resilience against unforeseen shocks, UNIDO document says.

This will be achieved through game changer sessions, fireside chats, round tables and bilateral meetings to promote networking, partnership building and the identification of scalable solutions on the three thematic work stre­ams that will underpin the event, namely “Artificial intelligence, digitalisation and automation in manufacturing”, “Energy transition” and “Resilient and sustainable supply chains”.

The outcomes of MIPF 2024 will also inform the pros­pective ‘Riyadh Decla­ration’, which will be presented at the UNIDO Gen­eral Conference 2025. The purpose of the strategic lin­kage between MIPF 2024 and the General Confe­re­nce is to ensure continuity and to reinforce the impact of industrial policy discussions on the global scale.

Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2024