Pakistani Crypto Minister Bilal Bin Saqib Champions Youth and Tech Revolution at UN General Assembly

UN podiums usually echo with tired fiscal policies—but Pakistan just dropped a blockchain bombshell.

Digital Diplomacy Breakthrough

Minister Bilal Bin Saqib reframed crypto not as speculation but as generational empowerment. His address bypassed traditional economic frameworks entirely.

Youth-Driven Financial Overhaul

The vision leverages Pakistan's demographic dividend—60% of population under 30—to leapfrog legacy banking systems. No more waiting for IMF bailouts when code executes faster than bureaucracy.

Technology as Sovereignty Tool

Decentralized networks cut through geopolitical red tape. Saqib's blueprint positions blockchain infrastructure as critical national security—like digital nuclear capability.

Wall Street bankers still think 'hodl' is a typo—meanwhile emerging economies are rewriting global finance from the ground up.

The second intervention on artificial intelligence reinforced the same theme but through a broader lens. Pakistani Crypto Minister stated that AI is not a luxury reserved for advanced economies, but a necessity for developing nations seeking to leapfrog structural barriers. His call was for global cooperation to ensure equitable access, ethical safeguards, and collaborative models that allow the Global South to build capacity rather than fall further behind.

What made these interventions significant was not only the content but also the context. Pakistan was not speaking from the sidelines. At UNGA80, it was treated as an active participant in shaping the global conversation on the intersection of technology, development, and youth empowerment. 

The progress made in digital adoption, particularly in crypto and blockchain, was acknowledged in New York as a case study of how emerging economies can MOVE quickly when driven by need.

For Pakistan, this marks a subtle but important shift in perception. No longer simply a recipient of development agendas, the country is positioning itself as a contributor of ideas and models, demonstrating how digital assets, social business frameworks, and AI can converge to tackle challenges of poverty, inequality, and climate vulnerability. The UNGA80 discussions showed that Pakistan is increasingly being viewed not as a follower, but as a country ready to lead in the Global South’s engagement with emerging technologies.

Bilal Bin Saqib also met with Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus, the President of Microsoft, Brad Smith, and Kazakhstan’s Minister of Digital Development and Innovation, Zhaslan Madiyev, during his visit to New York.