President Asif Ali Zardari has conferred Pakistan’s highest civilian award - the Hilal-e-Imtiaz – upon Dubai-based Pakistani origin businessman Umar Farooq Zahoor in recognition of his services for the state of Pakistan, mainly for bringing foreign direct investment worth hundreds of millions of US Dollars.

President Asif Ali Zardari had approved the Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Crescent of Excellence) for Umar Farooq Zahoor in August last year. Farooq was among over 100 individuals, both Pakistani and foreign, who received the civil awards on Sunday at the special presidential investiture ceremony held at the President House in connection with the Pakistan Day.

Umar Farooq Zahoor was conferred with the civil award Hilal-e-Imtiaz by the president of Pakistan in acknowledgment of his efforts and meritorious services in bringing hundreds of millions of dollars in country as direct foreign investment from overseas.

The government sources said that Zahoor had brought over hundreds of millions in direct foreign investment to Pakistan in the last three years.

This investment has been directed towards infrastructure, ports, and logistics and its understood that projects worth over $2 billion in various fields, including energy, distribution, agriculture, IT, logistics, and real estate are currently underway.

Additionally, Zahoor has played a crucial role in promoting bilateral economic ties between Pakistan and the Gulf countries, leveraging his strong regional network and diplomatic skills to facilitate investment flows and economic collaboration.

After receiving the Hilal-e-Imtiaz, Umar Farooq Zahoor said: “This is a moment of huge honour and blessing for me. I am proud to say that I have brought direct foreign investment of nearly $700 million to Pakistan in the last three years. To get recognised by your motherland in this way, with the most prestigious honour is a moment of sheer pride and honour for myself, my family and my friends. I feel humbled and I am thankful to the state of Pakistan for considering me as worthy of this honour. This is in recognition of my services for Pakistan, for bringing the investment. I remain committed to doing everything in my power to support Pakistan’s economic growth and global standing.”

Few months back, the Intergovernmental Institution for the Use of Micro-algae Spirulina Against Malnutrition (IIMSAM), an autonomous inter-governmental observer to the United Nations Economic and Social Council, appointed Umar Farooq Zahoor as a pro bono ambassador at large to promote Spirulina and advance the UN Millennium Development Goals in the fight against global malnutrition.

“Umar Farooq has been named as Pro Bono Ambassador at Large within the Secretary General’s office,” according to a letter from Remigio Maradona, MSA, the Permanent Secretary General.

In its letter to Zahoor, IIMSAM stated that the ambassador will help combat malnutrition by managing the global free distribution of Spirulina, focusing on underserved areas, especially in Pakistan, in alignment with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals for 2020-2030.

His appointment as a pro bono ambassador at large, according to the letter issued by IIMSAM, supports the organisation's mandate to combat malnutrition by facilitating the free distribution of spirulina to disadvantaged sectors internationally, particularly in Pakistan, in alignment with the UN's Sustainable Development Goals for 2020-2030 under the Decade of Action.

IIMSAM functions as an independent intergovernmental observer to the UN Economic and Social Council, a role granted by ECOSOC Resolution 2003. The organisation is pivotal in addressing global malnutrition by promoting and distributing Spirulina, a highly nutritious micro-alga.