Social Policy Analyst & Development Practitioner

DrAbid Qaiyum Suleri

Executive Director of the Sustainable Development Policy Institute, Islamabad — advising Pakistan and international forums on food security, climate change, and the political economy of public policy.

Food Security Climate Change Sustainable Development Political Economy Regional Trade
Portrait of Dr Abid Qaiyum Suleri
Executive Director, SDPI
Profile

Three decades at the intersection of evidence and policy

Dr Abid Qaiyum Suleri has led the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) since 2007, turning research into policy advice that reaches the highest levels of Pakistani and regional decision-making.

A leading expert on sustainable development, the political economy of public policy, food security, and climate change, he gives policy advice and serves on numerous forums and advisory boards at national, regional, and international levels. He has represented Pakistan in official and civil-society delegations to the UN Sustainable Development Summit, the UNFCCC Conferences of Parties (COPs), and WTO Ministerial Conferences.

A sought-after speaker, he regularly lectures on sustainable development to career civil servants, military officers, and parliamentarians. An accomplished writer, he contributes to academic journals and mainstream media, and is Editor-in-Chief of SDPI's peer-reviewed Journal of Development Policy, Research and Practice and Series Editor of Springer's South Asia Economic and Policy Studies.

Current Role
Executive Director, SDPI (since 2007)
Doctorate
PhD, Food Security — University of Greenwich, UK
Earlier Study
BSc Agriculture & MSc Entomology, Pakistan
Based In
Islamabad, Pakistan
Editor-in-Chief
Journal of Development Policy, Research & Practice
Current Appointments

Where the research lands

A selection of the national and international bodies Dr Suleri currently serves on.

01

Executive Director

Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI)
02

Chair, Board of Directors

National Disaster Risk Management Fund (NDRMF)
03

Member, Advisory Council

Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI)
04

Member

Pakistan Climate Change Council
05

Member, Board of Directors

Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP)
06

Member, Board of Governors

National School of Public Policy
07

Editor-in-Chief

Journal of Development Policy, Research & Practice
08

Series Editor

Springer — South Asia Economic & Policy Studies
Previously: three terms on the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council (2013–2022); two terms on the Planning Commission's National Advisory Council; Coordinator of the PM's Agriculture Transformation Plan (2021–2022); member of the International Advisory Committee of COP29 (2024); Board of Directors of Pakistan State Oil (2009–2011); and four judicial commissions on environmental issues formed by the Supreme Court, Islamabad High Court, and Lahore High Court.
Research & Focus Areas

The questions that drive the work

Food Security

Food insecurity, agricultural transformation, and resilient rural livelihoods across Pakistan.

Climate Change

Adaptation, resilience financing, and Pakistan's position in global climate negotiations.

Sustainable Development

The SDGs and the transition to an inclusive, sustainable economy.

Political Economy

Institutional reform, evidence in policymaking, and the political economy of development.

Regional Trade

South Asian economic integration, India–Pakistan trade, and CPEC.

Non-Traditional Security

Poverty, natural-resource management, and human security as policy challenges.

In the Media

On the record

Selected conversations and lectures on Pakistan's economy, climate, and development policy.

Videos open on YouTube. More appearances on the SDPI channel.

Selected Writing

Recent columns

Dr Suleri's policy commentary appears regularly in Pakistan's national press.

Full archive of columns, papers, and projects at sdpi.org.