The global agenda has never been so varied, so pressing or so complex. It demands of the international community new approaches, new resources and new commitments of commercial and political will. We cannot wait for governments to do it all.

There is a clear and present need for rethinking development economics and questioning our prevailing paradigms. We need to pursue unconventional and locally-attuned solutions.

Research shows that countries which receive foreign aid grow considerably slower that those who don’t. They don’t have to deal with the strings which often come attached with aid and are allowed to grow organically.

If we can find approaches that meet the needs of the poor in ways that generate profits for business and votes for politicians, we will have found a sustainable way to reduce inequity in the world. This task is open-ended. It can never be finished. But a conscious effort to answer this challenge will change the world.

I would struggle to find an example of a country whose progress and success were more in Britain's national interest than were those of Pakistan.

The floods in Pakistan is the greatest humanitarian crisis the United Nations has responded to in its 65-year history, with more people affected than the South-East Asian tsunami and the recent earthquakes in Kashmir and Haiti combined.