Pakistan has been unanimously elected as the Regional Director for South Asia of the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA) for the 2025–27 term during elections held at the 29th WAIPA World Investment Conference in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
According to an official statement, Kuwait, the Dominican Republic, and South Korea were elected as President and Vice Presidents of WAIPA, respectively. WAIPA Executive Director and CEO Ismail Ersahin congratulated the newly elected leadership.
Minister for Investment and Chairman of the Board of Investment (BOI) Qaiser Ahmed Shaikh represented Pakistan at the WAIPA General Assembly.
In his address, he reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to fostering collaboration, innovation, and knowledge sharing among Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs) worldwide.
Shaikh said Pakistan’s election was a timely development ahead of the 2025 World Investment Conference, which gathers leaders from over 140 countries to discuss global investment promotion amid digital and economic transformation.
He noted that the directorship would help Pakistan strengthen investment promotion efforts and enhance regional cooperation to attract higher foreign direct investment (FDI) into South Asia.
Highlighting the benefits of WAIPA membership, Shaikh said Pakistan would gain opportunities to network with global IPAs, share expertise, and adopt international best practices to improve investment facilitation.
He described the election as recognition of Pakistan’s ongoing commitment to advancing foreign investment and economic growth. Shaikh invited the WAIPA team to visit Pakistan and offered to host the next World Investment Conference in Islamabad.
The minister also thanked the WAIPA community for its confidence in Pakistan’s BOI and praised his team’s efforts to strengthen Pakistan’s presence in global investment promotion platforms.
