Mr. Zafar Uddin Mahmood

Zafar Uddin Mahmood is a veteran Pakistani diplomat and China expert serving as Director at the Institute of Peace and Connectivity. His association with China spans nearly five decades, beginning in 1976 when he first travelled there as a student. During his diplomatic career he served as Economic and Commercial Counselor at the Pakistan Embassy in Beijing and as Pakistan’s first Consul General in Shanghai, making outstanding contributions to bilateral economic cooperation and trade.

He subsequently served as Pakistan’s Special Envoy for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the flagship program of China’s Belt and Road Initiative and the largest economic development project in Pakistan’s history. After concluding government service, he founded the Understanding China organization to promote people-to-people engagement. He is currently Policy Adviser to the Secretary General of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA).