management consultancy firms and investment banks in which overseas pakistanis are serving can help identify such opportunities. sixth, the organizations of overseas pakistanis can set up scholarship funds to enable some talented young pakistanis, who cannot otherwise afford, to study for advanced degrees in science, engineering and technology at the top elite universities in north america. there is always an apprehension that these scholars, if they are good, will not return to pakistan upon completion of their studies. but there is no harm if they acquire practical experience in their fields as today ’ s world is characterized by brain circulation rather than brain drain. the attractive prospects in pakistan will sooner or later take them back and this investment in human development will never be wasted. i will very much hope that the organizations of overseas pakistanis such as yours will give a serious consideration to this suggestion. seventh, in this age and day, we have to play by the practices and rules of the countries we have chosen as our new home. as you know better than i do, think tanks play an important role in influencing public policy in canada and the u. s. some pakistani businessmen have taken the lead in establishing pakistan fellowship funds at the school of advanced international studies ( sais ), john hopkins university and the woodrow wilson center in washington, d. c.. this initiative has proved successful as is evident from the number of seminars, conferences held and working papers, policy briefs, op - ed columns that have appeared on pakistan ’ s development issues in the u. s. in the last two years. i suggest that similar ventures should be encouraged in other think tanks in the u. s. and canada. these think tanks can be our powerful allies in influencing opinion makers in the media, parliaments, academia, governments, political parties in responding to their concerns about pakistan and inprojecting a realistic image of our country. eighth, those among you, who are medical professionals and are also enterprising and willing to take risks, should consider setting up in the private sector, modern hospitals of world standards in pakistan. these hospitals can attract patients from the western countries and the middle east for surgical procedures and other quality services at costs which are a fraction of those charged in developed countries. i emphasized the word ‘ enterprising ’ because these hospitals have to be run on a commercial basis offering five star hotel facilities, meet and receive facilities at the airports and cater to other needs of the patients and their families. such hospitals are operating successfully in other developing countries and i

##pur, multan, sialkot, faisalabad. those of you who belong to these areas owe it to your hometowns to get together and help some of these educational and healthcare institutions at these places acquire eminence in the delivery of these services. your involvement will also help improve the governance and management structures of these institutions which are badly in need of reform. third, many among you are highly respected researchers and innovators who are at the cutting edge of their disciplines. we would like you to provide intellectual leadership in designing, organizing, collaborating in practical - oriented scientific research and applying the results of this research to enhance agriculture and industrial productivity. the link between academic research and the industry in pakistan is quite weak and the billions of rupees being invested in research establishments are not producing the kind of benefits that are needed to boost the productivity and efficiency of our industry. some of you can help in strengthening these linkages by applying the business models that have successfully worked elsewhere. fourth, the outsourcing of services in china and india was initiated by a group of overseas nationals of these countries working in multinational firms. they acted as the conduit and honest brokers between the foreign firms and the host country firms because they had the intimate knowledge of the multinational firms ’ requirements and the understanding, contacts and knowledge of the capabilities of the firms in their countries of origin. in many cases, they advised the recipient firms as to how to go about writing contracts, developing quality assurance methods, and the means for delivery on time, etc. i am sure we have a large reservoir of pakistanis working in the multinationals and there are now well established firms in pakistan who can cater to their outsourcing needs according to international standards. what is missing is the link between the two and i would encourage you to work on this missing link even on a fairly modest scale to begin with. 2 / 4 fifth, as the cotton textile industry in north america and europe is no longer competitive, there is a great scope for formation of joint ventures in which the local companies in canada and the us provide design, technology, marketing, services while the actual production is carried out in the low cost factories of pakistan and the final output is shipped to north america. this is a win - win situation for both parties as the dying textile firms in north america will be able to retain some jobs while pakistan will enhance its labor intensive exports and provide employment to a large pool of unskilled labor force. the