Pakistan’s Ministry of Maritime Affairs has taken the initiative of launching the 2nd edition of the Pakistan International Maritime Expo and Conference (PIMEC). The Conference, being co-organized with Badr Expo Solutions, is set to take place from 3 to 6 November at the Karachi Expo Center under the tutelage of the Pakistan Navy. The conference will bring together business leaders, investors, government officials, and entrepreneurs from around the world to explore the limitless possibilities in Pakistan’s growing maritime sector.

The conference will offer many new opportunities to explore for businesses interested in the blue economy. The conference comes in the backdrop of the increasing importance of the blue economy in a nation’s growth and development. Historically, Pakistan has not been able to successfully exploit all the maritime resources that nature and our geostrategic location endowed us with. As a result, a huge potential of business and growth opportunities goes  wasted every year.

This economic inefficiency has contributed to a lagged economic growth in recent decades. Moreover, the growing population of Pakistan has put additional energy and food demands on the country’s already strained economy.

Therefore, in order to enhance the country’s capacity for sustainable growth, PIMEC has come forward with many new possibilities. These include shipbuilding, renewable energy, offshore oil drilling, marine biotechnology, desalination, and fisheries. Together, these sectors of the blue economy constitute the potential to contribute almost $15 billion annually to Pakistan’s economy and provide employment to an estimated 10,000 people.

Hence, the conference will act as a stepping stone to enhance the economic growth of the country. Along with these initiatives, PIMEC has also sought academia-industry partnerships to explore further possibilities for development of Pakistan’s maritime sector on its 1000 Km coastal line.

Building on the success of the first edition, in which the delegates of 50 countries participated with 143 exhibitors, the second edition has sought to magnify that success. However, unlike the previous edition, which solely focused on possibilities for development, the core component of the conference in the 2nd edition would be sustainability. Hence, the conference is centered around the theme of “Harnessing the Blue Economy for Sustainable development.”

Read More: What Is PIMEC, and Why Its 2nd Edition Stands Out

The central theme of the conference signifies the importance of sustainability in economic growth. This is especially relevant to Pakistan, where climate change is endangering the lives of both humans and habitats.

27 papers were presented at the inaugural Maritime Conference whose theme was “Embracing Blue Economy – Challenges and Opportunities for Developing Countries.” Maritime security and ocean governance featured prominently as sub-themes in the scholarly papers that were presented at the conference.

This year, the Maritime Conference is scheduled for the second day and lies at the heart of PIMEC, The organizers view it as;

“a thought-leadership program where world-renowned speakers, defense strategists, industry leaders, and academic scholars present their insights on maritime security, trade corridors, port development, ship building, and environmental sustainability.”

The conference sets out to create more space for dialogue, create incentives for scholars to research maritime domain and blue economy, exchange knowledge, and to shape maritime policy and discourse in the country. Needless to say, PIMEC has provided fuel to young researchers to pursue their research ambition, for now they have a platform to present and showcase their work and findings.

Maintaining diversity, the conference invites people from diverse backgrounds to submit their papers for consideration; including but not limited to maritime and shipping professionals, logistics experts, academics, researchers, technology developers, environmentalists, and policy practitioners.

Therefore, what Pakistan truly needs is the utilization of the resources endowed to us in a sustainable manner that ensures the ability of future generations to utilize them too. In this respect, PIMEC has developed a platform for dialogue, research, and innovation to move the maritime policy of the country in a positive direction. The conference invites researchers from across the country to present their findings at the conference.

Muhammad Omer Rafiq
Muhammad Omer Rafiq
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Muhammad Omer Rafiq is a student of politics with a passion for making sense of our tumultuous political world that always seems to be on the edge. He recently graduated in International Relations from Lahore Garrison University. He can be reached at muhammadomerrafiq@gmail.com

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