Innovative development February 24, 2021 In order for Pakistan to emerge from the quagmire of poverty, hunger, and foreign debt, we need to migrate to a strong knowledge economy. About 67 percent of our population of 220 million is below the age of 30 which gives us a huge demographic advantage. To move forward, we must declare a National Education Emergency and invest massively in education, science, technology and innovation In such an effort, the government has a pivotal role to play by ensuring universal literacy, establishing good technical and vocational schools, and setting up world class universities with Centers of Excellence in selected fields. We must also establish a strong national network of technology parks to allow new technologies to be promoted through business and technology incubators. Such an effort will require access to venture capital funds to promote innovation and entrepreneurship through new start-up companies. We will also need to establish industrial clusters in such key fields as biotechnology, engineering goods, electronics, pharmaceuticals and other high-tech areas.