DM Monitoring
CAMBRIDGE: The former Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Dr. Reza Baqir, has been nominated as a Senior Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School of Government — a public policy and administration institution affiliated with the prestigious Harvard University.
Dr. Baqir revealed the exciting news on Twitter: “Honored to have been appointed Senior Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School of Government. My work will focus on improving global frameworks for resolving sovereign debt crises so countries can recover faster from debt distress”.
The official press release read, “Reza worked for 19 years at the International Monetary Fund and 2 years at the World Bank. He headed the IMF’s office in Egypt during 2017-19 as IMF Senior Resident Representative and oversaw the successful implementation of the IMF’s loan program, then the largest in the Middle East region. For 4 years he headed the IMF’s Debt Policy Division that oversees IMF’s work on sovereign debt sustainability and restructuring, worked on several sovereign debt restructurings, and represented the IMF in the meetings of the Paris Club”.
The statement also acknowledged Dr. Baqir’s accomplishments when he was at the helm of Pakistan’s central bank as governor. He helped in the development of:
1. A new digital banking initiative for overseas Pakistanis that generated close to US$5 billion in foreign currency funding.
2. Relaxations in Pakistan’s foreign exchange regulatory framework spurred a wave of foreign investments in startups and fintechs.
3. A new regulatory framework to license digital banks in Pakistan.
Pakistan’s first instant payment system — Raast.
4. A dedicated policy — Banking on Equality — to support women’s access to finance.
It further read, “In June 2019, Reza successfully negotiated a new IMF program, and completed 6 subsequent reviews, that stabilized the economy. He led two landmark reforms in this period: introduction of a flexible exchange rate regime, a first for Pakistan, and changes to the central bank law to strengthen its independence”.
Dr. Baqir’s work at the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government (M-RCBG) will focus on efficient and workable international frameworks for the timely resolution of sovereign debt distress in emerging markets. His faculty sponsor is Kenneth Rogoff, Professor of Economics, and Maurits C. Boas, Chair of International Economics at Harvard University.
