Reza Baqir, former SBP governor, appointed Senior Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School.

Former governor of State Bank Reza Baqir has been appointed as Senior Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School.

Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

In a tweet, the former SBP governor said that his work would focus on improving global frameworks for resolving sovereign debt crises so countries can recover faster from debt distress.

Reza Baqir served as the Governor of SBP from May 2019 - May 2022.

'During this time, he led Pakistan's financial response to the Covid-19 pandemic, which led to a quick economic rebound while lowering public debt and preserving foreign exchange reserves over 2020-21,' the HKS said in a statement on its official website.

He also initiated a series of initiatives to digitize Pakistan's financial sector to promote innovation and inclusion.

These included;

(i) a new digital banking initiative for overseas Pakistanis that generated close to US$5 billion in foreign currency funding;

(ii) relaxations in Pakistan's foreign exchange regulatory framework that spurred a wave of foreign investments in startups and fintech;

(iii) a new regulatory framework to license digital banks in Pakistan;

(iv) Pakistan's first instant payment system Raast; and

(v) a dedicated policy-Banking on Equality-to support women's access to finance

Reza Baqir also successfully negotiated a new IMF program and completed six subsequent reviews that stabilized the economy.

'He led two landmark reforms in this period: the introduction of a flexible exchange rate regime, a first for...