Official Summit Report 24th-25th May 2011 Dubai, UAE

The Pakistan & Afghanistan Summit (PAS) took place on the 24th and 25th May at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Dubai. The governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan, offered their full support and in-country international agencies, major donors, NGOs, government official’s and private sector companies, all gathered to address the region’s need to renovate their infrastructure, weakened by many natural disasters, conflict and neglect. Over the two days many positive discussions were held. During the morning plenary sessions each individual ministry and agency presented their current challenges and outlined the opportunities available to local and international private sector companies. The afternoons saw the attendees hold private pre-scheduled one on one meetings forging new relationships and creating serious business opportunities.

The Summit opened with a welcome address by CEO James Ramsey, from the organisers Entico Corporation, he was then joined by our two keynote speakers; from Pakistan HE Makhdoom Amin Fahim, Pakistan’s Minister of Commerce and Mr Pamir Patang, Chief of Staff at the Afghanistan Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

Following the opening addresses, the first morning panel session kicked off, chaired by Sabine Peral, General Manager, Supreme Group and entitled ‘Sustainable Construction Projects’. This panel highlighted the challenges faced by both governments and the international community, as well as discussing the main contracting opportunities and how the region can ‘build back better’. The session included presentations by Col. Thomas H. Magness, Commander of Afghanistan Engineer District - North, United States Army Corps of Engineers, followed by Hamid Yar Hiraj, Chairman of Pakistan's Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority ERRA. Next we welcomed to the stage; Naeem Yassin, the President of the Afghanistan Builders Association and then the final panel address was made by Miss. Ester Lauferova the Special Envoy for Provincial Reconstruction Teams in Afghanistan - Czech Republic Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Panel Two was on the subject of ‘Infrastructure and Logistics’ and chaired by Syed Shams Ahmed Burney, Managing Director Al-Tajjir & Co. The first speaker was Miss. Yalda Natiq, Director of International Relations from Afghanistan's Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation who presented an overview of the main transport infrastructure investment opportunities. The second speaker, Peter Krogh Sorensen, representing the Afghanistan Operations Centre of UNOPS, covered several UNOPS projects including the National Emergency Rural Access Project (NERAP). Ghulam Mohayuddin Marri from the Planning Commission of Pakistan then outlined the salient features of the Afghanistan Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA) and highlighted the ongoing infrastructure development projects in the region. Djalal Khimdjee, Senior Investment Officer at the International Finance Corporation concluded the session with 10 things to know about IFC for investors in Pakistan and Afghanistan including details of the IFC's long term financing to private companies and advisory services to government.

The third panel of the first day explored ‘Telecommunications and Information Technology’ and was chaired by Furqan H. Qureshi, General Manager, Wateen Telecom. Mr Qureshi was joined by Mohammed Yaseen, Chairman of Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, Saeed Ahmad Khan, Secretary IT, Pakistan Ministry of Information Technology.

Gregory Kleponis, Principle of Elite Holdings took our guest speaker slot before lunch on the first day and addressed the audience with a fascinating insight into prime and subprime contractor payments and the effect on the local economy.
After lunch and throughout the afternoon of day one, key decision makers from Pakistan and Afghanistan ministries and the international organisations in attendance engaged in pre-scheduled face-to-face meetings with the participating delegates. There were around 30 dedicated meeting areas to enable the participants to maximise the potential of their participation.

Day two summit proceedings opened with remarks by Khan Jan Alokazai, Vice-Chairman of Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), and by Senator Haji Ghulam Ali, President of Pakistan's Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI).

The ‘Investment and Public-Private Partnership Opportunities’ panel opened the event’s second day and was Chaired by Marcel Hagens, President/CCO from Axuda Insurance Afghanistan. The panel commenced with a presentation by Sikandar Ahmed Rai, Executive Director General of Pakistan Board of Investment (BOI), followed by a talk from Ghulam Murtaza Satti, Advisor Public-Private Partnerships in government of Pakistan. World Bank Group's MIGA representative Nabil Fawas spoke third and the last speaker on that panel was Saquib Mohyuddin, CEO SME Business Support Fund of Pakistan's Ministry of Finance.

The ‘Regional Security and Stability’ panel was chaired and opened with a talk by Doug Brooks, President, International Stability Operations Association ISOA. He was joined by Akbar Ahmadzai, Business Development Manager for Peace Dividend Trust. Both speakers committed to raising the standards of the peace and stability operations industry to ensure sound and ethical professionalism and transparency in the conduct of peacekeeping and post-conflict reconstruction activities.  

The sixth session ‘Energy and Natural Resources’ was chaired by Roshan K. Thapa, Manager, RGM. Starting the presentations was Asad Aleem, Energy Specialist at the Asian Development Bank, who was then followed by Dr. Atiq Sediqi, Minister's Advisor at the Afghanistan Ministry of Mines. The session looked at the significant opportunities linked to international finance institutions funding the reconstruction efforts that have changed the landscape of the region. This panel session was concluded with the standard audience questions answered by the panellists.

After another networking lunch once again key decision makers from Pakistan and Afghanistan ministries and the international organisations in attendance engaged in pre-scheduled face-to-face meetings with the participating delegates.
Entico would like to thank all of the official guests, sponsors and delegates who contributed to the success of the summit. We trust you found value in the quality of speaker presentations and appreciate the cooperation from the officials, agencies and companies to participate in the meeting and networking sessions.