Pakistan used the platform of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly to highlight the potential of artificial intelligence and tokenization to expand financial inclusion in developing economies. Minister of State and Chairman of the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA), Bilal Bin Saqib, delivered a keynote address at the Social Business, Youth and Technology Forum, where he presented Pakistan’s recent developments in virtual asset regulation as part of a wider discussion on technology, finance and inclusion. The forum was held to mark 50 years of microcredit and the Year of Social Business, bringing together international political and social figures to discuss the role of technology and finance in development.
The opening panel of the forum included President of the 81st United Nations General Assembly Dr. Khalilur Rahman, President of Timor-Leste and Nobel Peace Laureate José Ramos-Horta, Prime Minister of Bhutan Dasho Tshering Tobgay, Brazil’s Minister Wellington Dias and Nobel Peace Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus. The forum was convened in recognition of Yunus’s work in microcredit, while the broader discussions focused on how technology and financial systems can be structured to expand access to people who remain outside traditional financial institutions.
During his keynote, Bin Saqib placed Pakistan’s experience within a wider global financial inclusion context. He noted that an estimated 1.3 billion adults worldwide remain without an account at any financial institution, while nearly 900 million of those people already own a mobile phone. The figures were used to highlight the gap between access to technology and access to formal financial services. The argument presented at the forum was that the challenge increasingly concerns the financial infrastructure, regulatory frameworks and systems required to connect people to formal financial services rather than simply the availability of technology itself.
Pakistan was presented as an example of a country that has changed its approach to digital assets through a new regulatory framework. According to the keynote, Pakistan had closed its banking system to digital assets in 2018 before reopening the sector following the passage of the Virtual Assets Act 2026. This was followed by the establishment of a regulatory sandbox and the introduction of licensing regulations for virtual asset service providers. The developments represent a shift towards creating a formal regulatory structure for virtual asset-related activities in the country.
Bin Saqib also referred to independent global adoption indices that estimate the number of virtual asset users in Pakistan at more than 40 million. The figure was presented in the context of Pakistan’s large and young user base, highlighting the scale of existing interest in digital assets and the potential implications of establishing a regulated framework. The regulatory approach is intended to provide a structure for virtual asset service providers while addressing the requirements associated with oversight and market participation.
The PVARA chairman further argued that countries in the Global South should have a greater role in developing technology and financial systems rather than remaining primarily users of solutions created elsewhere. He positioned Pakistan’s virtual asset framework as part of an effort to participate in the development of digital financial infrastructure. His remarks connected this objective with the broader role of artificial intelligence and tokenization, particularly where these technologies can address practical financial access challenges and support people who have historically remained outside formal financial systems.
Bin Saqib also stressed that technology and regulation on their own are not sufficient to deliver financial inclusion. He argued that inclusion depends on the point where technological capabilities and appropriate regulatory structures come together. This approach places emphasis on developing digital systems alongside rules and safeguards that can support their responsible use. The discussion at the UN forum therefore linked technological innovation with regulatory development and broader social and economic objectives.
The keynote concluded with a message to young innovators across developing economies to pursue technology-driven solutions without waiting for traditional systems to create all the opportunities. Bin Saqib framed the goals of reducing poverty and unemployment as objectives that could be addressed using the tools available through modern technology. Pakistan’s participation in the forum consequently focused on its evolving virtual asset regulatory framework, while also placing digital finance, artificial intelligence and tokenization within the wider international discussion on financial inclusion and economic development.
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