Young Global Leaders Forge Partnership
Davos, Switzerland, January 27, 2006 – Some members of The Forum of Young Global Leaders met this morning with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and business leaders in the aviation, travel & tourism industries to discuss progress and solicit financial support for the Kaghan Valley Development Organization (KVDO), a new public-private partnership aimed at long-term reconstruction of the regions affected by the October 8th earthquake. The KVDO, a collaboration between the Government of Pakistan, the private sector, and the Forum of Young Global Leaders, seeks to rebuild the tourism infrastructure so critical to the greater Kaghan Valley region through the disbursement of concessional and low-interest loans. Prior to the earthquake, over 400,000 tourists visited the region each year. President Musharraf gave his full support to the initiative which will be lead by Young Global Leaders Michelle Guthrie, CEO of Star Group Ltd and Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari, Pakistani Minister of Information Technology. KVDO will be headquartered in Pakistan and overseen jointly by the Government of Pakistan and by the members of The Forum of Young Global Leaders who are involved with this initiative.