Dr Aneel Salman holds the distinguished Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI)-OGDCL Chair of Economic Security, affiliated with the National Security Division (NSD) of Pakistan’s federal government. He has spearheaded the Government of Pakistan’s National Artificial Intelligence Policy (2025); and also serves as Course Director at the Pakistan Institute of Trade and Development (PITAD), under the Ministry of Commerce, where he trains officers of the Pakistan Civil Service under the Specialised Training Program; and. His core research and teaching interests span macroeconomics, trade policy, regional connectivity, institutional governance, climate change, artificial intelligence, economic intelligence and the blue economy.
Dr Salman’s work situates trade reform within the broader framework of economic security linking fiscal efficiency, investment flows, and export diversification to long-term national stability. His studies on regional connectivity focus on Pakistan’s strategic role as a conduit between South Asia, Central Asia, and the Middle East examining the political economy of transport, energy, and digital corridors, highlighting how integrated trade routes and cross-border infrastructure can enhance supply chain resilience and regional interdependence. Integrating emerging technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) into policy analysis, he advocates for leveraging data-driven insights to enhance trade facilitation, predict economic vulnerabilities, and design adaptive strategies for resilient regional cooperation. In addition to his research and advisory work, he lectures regularly at home and abroad, engaging policymakers, academics, business leaders, as well as law enforcement, military, and diplomatic personnel on the evolving nexus between trade, technology, and economic security.
Dr Salman’s latest book is ‘Economic Security: Backbone of National Security’ (2025).
