On Tuesday, October 17, 2023, Dr. Muhammad Naveed Iftikhar, former Governance Specialist at the Economic Reforms Unit of Pakistan’s Ministry of Finance, delivered a lecture to the participants of 34^th SMC on “State-Market Relationship in Pakistan”. He gave an overview of the evolution of the relationship between state and markets. He first shared a glimpse of Pakistan’s dismal economic performance and explained that what matters is how states shape outcomes. States have to play the right kind of role by providing conducive environment to business and be continuously engaging in research and development to cater to the future needs. He also emphasized the need for meritocracy and the need to bring women into the mainstream. He also gave the example of East Asian Miracle exhibited by South Korea, Singapore, Japan and the role of state in driving the economy towards the path to progress. Dr. Naveed ended his talk by highlighting that Pakistan now has the chance to take advantage from the opportunities being offered by the technology advancements.