Dr. Vaqar Ahmed is an award-winning economist, former civil servant, and policy expert with a distinguished career spanning both the public and private sectors. He has successfully led programs for prominent organizations, including the World Bank, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Dr. Ahmed serves as an advisory board member for The Economist, is a Research Fellow with the Partnership for Economic Policy (PEP) Network, and acts as a Research and Evaluations Reviewer at RAND. He is also the Team Leader for the UK FCDO-supported AAWAZ-II Program, focusing on independent monitoring in Pakistan.
In addition to his roles in international organizations and government, Dr. Ahmed collaborates with various policy research think tanks, including the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) and Southern Voice. He has also been a visiting faculty member at esteemed institutions such as the University of Nottingham (UK), National University of Ireland, University of Le Havre (France), Quaid-e-Azam University, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, Pakistan Institute of Trade and Investment, National Institute of Management, National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST), and the National Defense University in Islamabad. His contributions to the field have been recognized through awards such as the 2015 Young Leaders Fellowship from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a 2021 research grant from the Canadian Government for fiscal responses to COVID-19.
As a prolific author, Dr. Ahmed has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles and several influential books, including Pakistan’s Agenda for Economic Reforms and Economy, Welfare, and Reforms in Pakistan, both published by Oxford University Press. His work has also been featured in edited volumes such as Global Pakistan: Pakistan’s Role in the International System, published by FES Germany. Dr. Ahmed frequently shares his insights on economic issues across media platforms, including the BBC, Reuters, Bloomberg, Arab News, Nikkei Asia and Dubai Eye.
Additionally, Dr. Ahmed has held key positions within the Pakistani government, including roles in the Ministry of Finance, Commerce, and the Planning Commission, where he has significantly contributed to economic policy formulation and implementation. His expertise has been instrumental in developing growth and sustainability policies for provincial governments in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Sindh, and Gilgit-Baltistan. He actively contributes to Pakistan’s national task forces, including the Resource and Revenue Mobilization Commission at the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). His areas of expertise include public finance, tax and trade reforms, local governance, and enhancing private sector competitiveness.