ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has called for a stronger role for the United Nations in ensuring that digital assets, blockchain and related technologies contribute to sustainable development, particularly in developing countries.
Speaking at a UN briefing on “Digital Assets and Blockchain for Sustainable Development” on September 11, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, said that digital technologies were rapidly moving into mainstream discussions on finance, investment, payments, public services and digital transformation.
“Digital assets, tokenization, blockchain and related technologies are increasingly moving from the margins into mainstream discussions,” the ambassador said in his opening remarks.
He noted that these technologies were creating new possibilities for transferring value, improving efficiency, expanding access to financial services and developing new forms of digital infrastructure.
However, he cautioned that the emerging digital economy also presented governments with significant policy, institutional and capacity challenges.
“For developing countries in particular, the question is how we can engage with them in a manner that advances our development priorities,” he said.
The Pakistani envoy stressed that while the opportunities associated with digital assets and blockchain were significant, developing countries continued to face gaps in infrastructure, technical expertise, institutional capacity and access to finance.
He called for a better understanding of which applications were already delivering results, where genuine public and economic value could be generated and what assistance countries needed to move beyond experimentation towards practical and sustainable implementation.
Ambassador Asim said the UN briefing aimed to address these questions through discussions involving UN agencies, institutions and experts.
Participants were expected to examine work already being undertaken across the UN system, along with practical experiences from different institutions using digital technologies.
The discussions also focused on the evolving role of digital assets in digital finance and the broader applications of blockchain and distributed ledger technologies.
Potential applications include digital identity, public services and other areas linked to sustainable development, highlighting the possibility of using emerging technologies beyond financial markets.
Ambassador Asim also emphasized the potential role of the UN in helping member states navigate the rapidly changing technological landscape.
He identified capacity-building, knowledge-sharing, technical cooperation and the exchange of emerging experiences as areas where the UN could provide meaningful support to countries.
Pakistan, he said, was itself navigating the rapidly evolving digital landscape and remained keen to share its experience while learning from other countries and institutions.
“We see value in ensuring that these conversations are not confined to technology or financial centers alone, but are also brought into the multilateral space with a clear development perspective,” he said.