Passing of His Excellency Sartaj Aziz

It is with great sadness that we learned about the passing of His Excellency Sartaj Aziz, former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Finance of Pakistan. We wish to express our deepest condolences to his family and to the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

Mr Aziz was an innovator, thought leader and founding force behind IFAD’s creation. Over the years, he remained an inspiration and friend to many in the organization. He will be remembered for his leadership and commitment to improving the lives of others through his work as a national and international civil servant and an esteemed educator, as well as for the critical role he played in addressing rising food insecurity through the Fund’s establishment in the 1970s.

Thanks to his keen foresight and skilful diplomacy, he saw an opportunity to create an agriculture development fund in the midst of a global food crisis to help low-income people in developing countries produce their own food, funded initially by contributions from OPEC countries, who were benefitting from an increase in oil prices.

By doing this, Mr Aziz helped to fill an unmet need for finance and investment in food systems for the world’s poorest rural people. He recognised that poverty, not food shortages, was the cause of hunger. He also spearheaded a nimble and community-driven approach that continues to guide IFAD’s operations today. Moreover, he ensured inclusiveness in IFAD’s governance structure through an agreement that developing, developed and OPEC countries would each hold one-third of the votes.

Having last visited IFAD in 2017, giving an inspirational speech to staff, Mr Aziz’s dedication to the Fund and to rural people was long-lasting.