ISLAMABAD: Faisal Saleem, first Pakistani senator elected to the International Monetary Fund-World Bank Parliamentary Network board, on Saturday said he would highlight Pakistan’s economic challenges and try to engage global financial institutions to help overcome these woes during his tenure.
The IMF-World Bank Parliamentary Network provides a platform for parliamentarians from over 140 countries to advocate for increased accountability and transparency in international financial institutions and multilateral development financing. Founded in 2000, the network seeks to engage lawmakers from around the globe in the common mission of addressing good governance and poverty challenges both at home and abroad.
Directed by a 12-member board elected by their peers, the Parliamentary Network is an independent non-governmental organization with a secretariat in Paris. The organization is open to all elected parliamentarians from World Bank member states, who hold a current mandate. Its members represent themselves and their constituents, and not their countries, parliaments or governments, according to the Network.
“My election to the Parliamentary Network’s board is an honor for Pakistan and I am the only member from Asia on the board [at present],” Senator Saleem told Arab News, adding that he was nominated by the Pakistan parliament and was elected this week as a member of the IMF-World Bank Parliamentary Network board by parliamentarians of other countries.
“My mission is to highlight and debate Pakistan’s economic challenges through the forum and try my best to steer the country out of the crisis. I’ll be there with a one-point agenda and that is to work for the betterment of my country.”
Senator Saleem, an industrialist hailing from Pakistan’s northwestern Mardan district, became a member of the upper house of Pakistan’s parliament in March 2021 on the ticket of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.
He said he was elected to the IMF-World Bank Parliamentary Network board for a period of three years, adding that half of the board members retire every three years and new members are elected in their place. “I have become the first Pakistani parliamentarian in the country’s history to be elected to the coveted position,” Senator Saleem added.
As a board member, he said, he would be discussing with his peers the loan programs, development projects and different initiatives to improve governance and overcome poverty in Pakistan. “I’ll be trying to initiate favorable recommendations to international financial institutions for Pakistan during my tenure,” the senator said.
Economically troubled Pakistan came to the brink of a sovereign default in June last year, but averted it by securing a $3 billion stand-by arrangement (SBA) from the IMF, which expires next month.
The country urgently needs a fresh IMF agreement to shore up its struggling $350 billion economy, which is suffering from high inflation, low reserves and mounting external financing needs.
Senator Saleem, however, clarified the IMF-World Bank Parliamentary Network had no direct role in loan disbursements or development projects funded by the IMF or the World Bank.
“I’ll be working closely with the government in Pakistan to give my productive inputs at the forum,” he said. “My first priority will be inviting all the board members for an official meeting to Pakistan to highlight a positive image of the country.”
First Pakistani elected to IMF-World Bank parliamentary board vows to highlight country’s economic woes
https://arab.news/jvmht
First Pakistani elected to IMF-World Bank parliamentary board vows to highlight country’s economic woes
- Senator Faisal Saleem, who was elected this week for a period of three years, calls it an ‘honor’ for Pakistan
- The parliamentarian says will work closely with the Pakistani government to highlight the challenges facing the country
Pakistan minister calls for integrating ocean awareness into education to preserve ecosystems
- Pakistan’s maritime sector posted a record $360 million profit in 2025 following a year of sweeping reforms
- Junaid Anwar Chaudhry says education equips youth to make informed decisions, contribute to blue economy
KARACHI: Pakistan’s Maritime Affairs Minister Junaid Anwar Chaudhry has urged integrating ocean awareness into formal education systems and empowering youth as active partners in order to preserve marine ecosystems, his ministry said on Saturday.
Chaudhry said this at a meeting with Minister of State for Education and Professional Training, Wajiha Qamar, who called on him and discussed strategies for enhancing marine education, literacy, and youth engagement in sustainable ocean management.
Pakistan’s maritime sector posted a record Rs100 billion ($360 million) profit in 2025 following a year of sweeping reforms aimed at improving port efficiency, cost-cutting, and safeguarding marine ecosystems to boost the blue economy.
“Understanding our oceans is no longer optional, it is essential for climate resilience, sustainable development, and the long-term health of our maritime resources,” Chaudhry said, highlighting the critical role of marine literacy.
The minister said education equips youth to make informed decisions and actively contribute to marine conservation and the blue economy, urging inclusion of marine ecosystems, conservation and human-ocean interactions into curricula, teacher training and global citizenship programs.
“Initiatives like ‘Ocean Literacy for All’ can mainstream these elements in national policies, school programs, and community workshops to build proactive citizenship on marine challenges,” he added.
Ocean Literacy for All is a UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission–coordinated global initiative under the UN Ocean Decade (2021–2030) that promotes ocean awareness, education, and conservation.
Chaudhry announced reforms in maritime education, including granting degree-awarding status to the Pakistan Marine Academy, and the establishment of the Maritime Educational Endowment Fund (MEEF) to provide scholarships for deserving children from coastal communities.
“The scholarship program promotes inclusive development by enabling access to quality education for youth from over 70 coastal and fishing communities, particularly in Sindh and Balochistan,” he said.
The discussions underscored raising awareness about oceans, coastal ecosystems and marine resources, according to the Pakistani maritime affairs ministry. Both ministers stressed the need to integrate climate and marine education from classrooms
to community programs, addressing risks like rising sea temperatures, coastal erosion, biodiversity loss and pollution.
“Incorporating marine science and ocean literacy into curricula can help students connect local challenges with global trends,” Qamar said, underscoring education’s transformative power in building social resilience.
The meeting explored translating complex marine science into accessible public knowledge through sustained, solution-oriented awareness campaigns, according to the maritime affairs ministry.
With coastline facing pressures from climate change, pollution, and overexploitation, the ministers called for a coordinated approach blending formal education, informal learning and youth-led advocacy.
“A joint effort by the Ministries of Maritime Affairs and Education can cultivate an ocean-literate generation, transforming vulnerability into resilience and ensuring the long-term sustainability of coastal and marine ecosystems,” Chaudhry said.
