ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has called for stronger international cooperation to shape the emerging global digital financial system, with Minister of State and Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) Chairman Bilal Bin Saqib highlighting the country’s regulatory experience and urging developing nations to help shape, rather than simply adopt, emerging financial technologies.
Addressing the United Nations Headquarters virtually, Saqib said digital assets, blockchain, tokenization and distributed ledger technologies offer developing economies an opportunity to rethink financial infrastructure around inclusion, efficiency and access, while stressing that innovation must be accompanied by effective regulation and international cooperation.
“The question before this room is not whether these technologies will scale. They will. The question is: who will shape them, and in whose interest?” he said.
The remarks came at a Pakistan-hosted UN briefing on “Digital Assets and Blockchain for Sustainable Development: Advancing Digital Finance through Innovation,” as Pakistan advances efforts to establish a formal regulatory and institutional framework for virtual assets.
Pakistan has established PVARA as its dedicated regulatory authority for the virtual-asset sector and has taken legislative and licensing measures alongside developing a regulatory sandbox for innovation, according to the Permanent Mission of Pakistan to the United Nations.
The framework reflects Pakistan’s effort to bring digital-asset activity within a formal regulatory environment while promoting responsible innovation and addressing risks associated with illicit finance, financial losses and inadequate oversight.
The Pakistan-hosted briefing brought together Member States, UN entities and experts from the public and private sectors to examine how emerging technologies can contribute to financial inclusion, efficient payments and remittances, investment, capital mobilization, digital identity, public services and sustainable development.
It was convened by the Permanent Mission of Pakistan to the United Nations in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the Office of the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Technology (ODET).
Pakistan highlights regulatory experience
Saqib outlined Pakistan’s experience in developing a regulatory framework for digital assets, emphasizing that innovation and regulation should not be viewed as competing objectives.
He said clear and effective rules can help build confidence, protect users and create an environment in which digital financial technologies can develop responsibly.
The minister highlighted the potential of digital financial innovation to reduce the cost and increase the speed of cross-border remittances, expand financial inclusion and mobilize capital for development.
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He noted that remittances remain a vital source of income for millions of families across the developing world, while the cost of sending relatively small amounts of money across borders remains significantly higher than international development targets.
Saqib placed ordinary people at the center of the digital-finance debate, highlighting the estimated 1.4 billion adults worldwide who remain outside the formal financial system, alongside billions more who participate on unequal terms because of expensive remittances, slow settlement and limited access to credit.
He noted that the average cost of sending $200 remains more than twice the 3 percent target established under Sustainable Development Goal 10.c, saying closing that gap could return billions of dollars annually to families that depend on remittances.
The minister said the development potential of digital finance extends beyond payments and remittances.
Digital identity and verifiable financial histories, he said, could help small businesses, farmers and women entrepreneurs demonstrate economic activity without relying exclusively on traditional collateral or documentation.
Tokenization could create new mechanisms for mobilizing investment and capital, while blockchain-based systems could strengthen transparency and traceability across financial flows.
He also pointed to potential applications of blockchain-based systems in development finance, subsidies, aid and climate finance, while emphasizing that such opportunities must be accompanied by safeguards against illicit finance, financial losses and other risks.
Virtual-asset framework
Pakistan’s regulatory push reflects a shift toward creating a structured legal and institutional environment for virtual assets rather than leaving the sector outside formal oversight.
Through PVARA, the government is establishing a framework for licensing and supervising virtual asset service providers while developing regulatory measures and a sandbox for innovation.
Saqib said Pakistan’s experience could offer practical lessons to other developing countries seeking to establish responsible approaches to digital assets.
He cautioned against allowing differences in regulatory and technological capacity to create a new form of financial divide between developed and developing countries.
The minister offered to share Pakistan’s experience, including its legislation, licensing framework and regulatory sandbox model, with other developing countries interested in exploring responsible approaches to digital assets.
He cautioned against viewing technology as an automatic solution, pointing to risks ranging from retail volatility and illicit finance to concentration of power and widening disparities between countries with sophisticated regulatory capabilities and those without them.
“The choice before every Member State is not regulate or don’t regulate. It is simpler, and starker, than that: to govern the future, or be governed by it.”
Saqib stressed that regulation must evolve alongside innovation, warning that frameworks introduced too late can fail consumers and markets, while regulation driven primarily by fear can push technological activity into less transparent environments.
The emerging lesson, he said, is that regulation should be treated as market-building rather than market-blocking.
Greater role for developing countries
Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said digital assets, blockchain and related technologies were increasingly moving from the margins into mainstream discussions on finance, investment, payments and digital transformation.
He underscored their particular relevance for developing countries, which continue to face gaps in digital infrastructure, technical expertise, institutional capacity and access to finance.
Ahmad stressed that developing countries should not be merely consumers of emerging technologies but should have the capacity to understand, shape and benefit from them.
He highlighted the importance of international cooperation, capacity-building, knowledge-sharing and technical assistance, noting that the United Nations, with its convening power and development mandate, could play an important role in helping Member States navigate the rapidly evolving digital landscape.
In his concluding remarks, the ambassador said the discussion had demonstrated the growing potential of digital assets and blockchain technologies to shape the future of digital finance and public-service delivery.
He cautioned, however, that technology alone could not deliver development outcomes.
Effective implementation, he said, requires appropriate policy frameworks, institutional capacity, secure and interoperable infrastructure, and the ability of governments to identify solutions responsive to their specific national needs.
He also emphasized that developing countries need the capacity not only to adopt emerging technologies but also to understand, shape and benefit from them.
Ahmad called for the United Nations to provide a platform through which emerging economies could collectively contribute to shaping the rules and standards of the evolving digital financial system.
UN officials discuss digital finance
The briefing also featured perspectives from senior representatives of the UN system.
Robert Opp, Chief Digital Officer of UNDP, shared the agency’s perspective and work on digital technologies and development, including efforts aimed at strengthening institutional capacity and supporting governments in exploring responsible applications of blockchain and related technologies.
Juan José Martinez Badillo, Chief of UNCTAD’s New York Office, addressed the evolving financial and development dimensions of digital assets, while Quintin Chou-Lambert, Deputy to the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Technology, highlighted broader issues of digital cooperation, technology governance and capacity-building.
The speakers underscored the importance of strengthening institutional understanding, developing appropriate policy and regulatory frameworks, and ensuring that technological innovation contributes to inclusive and sustainable development.
A subsequent panel discussion, moderated by Muhammad Faheem of the Permanent Mission of Pakistan to the UN, provided an opportunity for participants to exchange views on practical applications, policy considerations and lessons emerging from different country and institutional experiences.
Participants discussed the potential of blockchain and distributed ledger technologies across digital finance, digital identity, public services, traceability and other development areas, while also considering challenges related to regulation, interoperability, cybersecurity, institutional capacity and equitable access.
The discussion also highlighted UN initiatives, including UNDP’s Government Blockchain Academy and the SDG Blockchain Accelerator, which provide platforms for governments to strengthen institutional understanding, exchange experiences and explore practical applications of blockchain technologies.
Call for inclusive, responsible innovation
Saqib said no single country could address the opportunities and risks associated with digital finance alone, calling for greater cooperation among Member States, international institutions and the private sector.
He urged the United Nations to facilitate greater cooperation so that emerging economies can contribute to shaping the rules and standards governing the evolving digital financial system.
“No nation rises alone, and no nation should be left to rise alone,” he said.
The briefing concluded with a call for continued dialogue among Member States, the UN system, technology experts and other stakeholders to promote responsible, inclusive and development-oriented approaches to digital financial innovation.