Development and Philanthropy

Relationships directed towards health, agriculture, education and international development

Agha Hasan Abedi believed that banking institutions had responsibilities extending beyond commercial activity. He saw finance as a means through which wider social, educational and economic objectives could be pursued.

This belief led him to establish or support organisations working in education, health, agriculture, research, humanitarian assistance and international development. These activities brought him into association with former political leaders, diplomats, philanthropists, economists, academics and specialists from different countries.

Some of these relationships began through banking and later developed into wider cooperation. Others arose directly through organisations such as the Third World Foundation, Global 2000 and the Cambridge Commonwealth Trust.

The profiles in this section concentrate on the development and philanthropic dimensions of those relationships. Several of the individuals also appear elsewhere under International Statesmen and Political Leaders or Banking, Business, Education and Public Life.

Their inclusion here does not imply involvement in BCCI’s management or knowledge of any wrongdoing alleged against particular officers, borrowers or customers of the Bank.

Jimmy Carter

Former President of the United States and international humanitarian
Abedi’s association with former United States President Jimmy Carter became one of the most visible examples of a relationship extending beyond banking.

The two men were brought together by a shared interest in the problems facing developing countries. Their cooperation developed principally through Global 2000, an organisation associated with Carter’s post-presidential work in health, agriculture and international development.

Abedi served as a co-chairman of Global 2000. BCCI provided substantial financial, administrative and logistical assistance, helping the organisation develop programmes in countries where governments often lacked sufficient resources to address major public-health and agricultural problems.

Carter and Abedi visited a number of participating countries together. Their visits were intended to meet national leaders, review proposed projects, encourage government participation and attract wider international support.

Programmes associated with Global 2000 included agricultural development, rural health, child immunisation and efforts to control or eradicate contagious diseases. Activities were undertaken in countries including Bangladesh, Ghana, Sudan and Nigeria, with the involvement of governments, medical specialists, agricultural experts and local institutions.

The relationship gave Abedi an opportunity to support practical programmes capable of reaching large numbers of people. Carter’s international standing helped bring attention and credibility to the projects, while Abedi and BCCI contributed financial and organisational resources.

The association also benefited BCCI’s public standing. However, it should not be reduced simply to an exercise in reputation-building. The programmes themselves involved practical work in health and agriculture and reflected concerns that both men publicly expressed about poverty and development.

Carter was not involved in managing BCCI. His relationship with Abedi arose after he had left the presidency and centred principally on Global 2000 and international humanitarian work.

Rosalynn Carter

Former First Lady of the United States and humanitarian advocate
Rosalynn Carter participated with her husband in international humanitarian and development activities and accompanied Global 2000 delegations on overseas visits.

Her association with Abedi arose through those programmes rather than through BCCI’s banking operations.

In 1987, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter travelled with Abedi and a Global 2000 delegation to Pakistan. They were welcomed on arrival in Islamabad by President Zia-ul-Haq and senior Pakistani officials.

Rosalynn Carter’s involvement reflected the broader humanitarian emphasis of the Carters’ work after leaving the White House. Her public interests included health, human welfare and support for vulnerable communities.

Her inclusion is important because accounts of the relationship between Carter and Abedi sometimes refer only to the former president. Global 2000’s international work, however, also involved Rosalynn Carter and a wider network of specialists, officials and partner organisations.

The association demonstrates that the cooperation was not confined to meetings between two prominent individuals. It operated through delegations, institutions and programmes intended to produce practical results.

Ryoichi Sasakawa

Japanese philanthropist and co-chairman of Global 2000
Japanese philanthropist Ryoichi Sasakawa served alongside Abedi as a co-chairman of Global 2000.

His involvement brought another major source of financial support and international connections to the organisation. The combination of Carter’s public standing, Sasakawa’s philanthropic resources and Abedi’s financial and organisational support enabled Global 2000 to develop relationships with governments and undertake projects in several countries.

Sasakawa was a significant but controversial figure in twentieth-century Japan. Any fuller account of his life should acknowledge those controversies while distinguishing them from his documented participation in international philanthropic programmes.

Within Abedi’s story, his importance lies in the international partnership created around Global 2000. The organisation brought together individuals from very different political, cultural and professional backgrounds around practical programmes in health, agriculture and development.

The association also illustrates Abedi’s ability to connect sources of private financial support with former political leaders, national governments and technical organisations.

Sasakawa’s relationship with Abedi should therefore be understood principally as a philanthropic and institutional association rather than as part of BCCI’s ordinary banking business.

Shridath Ramphal

Commonwealth Secretary-General and advocate for developing countries
Shridath “Sonny” Ramphal was one of the leading international voices on development, decolonisation and cooperation between richer and poorer countries.

He served as Commonwealth Secretary-General from 1975 to 1990 and was closely involved in debates concerning Southern Africa, international economic inequality, sustainable development and the political representation of developing nations.

Ramphal’s interests overlapped strongly with the objectives of the Third World Foundation, which Abedi established with BCCI support.

The Foundation sought to encourage research, publications and international discussion about poverty, economic development and relations between industrialised and developing countries. It provided a forum in which political leaders, economists, academics and policymakers could examine these questions from perspectives that were often underrepresented in established Western institutions.

Ramphal was associated with Abedi through the Foundation and through wider educational and development initiatives. He was also connected with the Cambridge Commonwealth Trust, which supported scholarships for students from Commonwealth and developing countries.

His relationship with Abedi was therefore intellectual and institutional as well as personal. Ramphal brought diplomatic experience, knowledge of Commonwealth affairs and a sustained commitment to improving the international position of developing countries.

His participation gave substance and credibility to Abedi’s efforts to create forums in which developing countries could articulate their own priorities rather than merely respond to policies formulated elsewhere.

Ramphal belongs in more than one group within People and Associations. He was a senior international public figure, an advocate for development and a supporter of educational cooperation.

Michael Manley

Former Prime Minister of Jamaica and advocate for economic justice
Former Jamaican Prime Minister Michael Manley was associated with Abedi through the Third World Foundation and the wider debate about economic relations between developed and developing countries.

Manley was a prominent advocate for greater economic independence, social justice and a more equitable international economic order. He argued that political independence would remain incomplete if developing countries continued to be economically dependent upon wealthier nations and international institutions over which they exercised limited influence.

These concerns closely reflected the subjects addressed by the Third World Foundation.

The Foundation was not intended merely to distribute charitable funds. It sought to encourage research, publication and informed debate about the structural causes of poverty and inequality. It also aimed to provide policymakers and intellectuals from developing countries with a stronger international platform.

Manley’s association with Abedi therefore arose from a shared interest in development and international economic reform rather than simply from BCCI’s commercial activities.

His involvement illustrates an important part of Abedi’s approach. Philanthropy, in Abedi’s view, was not limited to immediate relief. It also involved supporting ideas, institutions and public discussion capable of influencing longer-term economic and social policy.

James Callaghan

Former British Prime Minister and supporter of development and education
Former British Prime Minister James Callaghan, later Lord Callaghan of Cardiff, was associated with Abedi through the Third World Foundation and educational initiatives connected with the Cambridge Commonwealth Trust.

Callaghan’s involvement was significant because it brought a former leader of a major Western country into institutions concerned with development and educational opportunity in Commonwealth and developing countries.

The Third World Foundation sought to encourage dialogue between industrialised and developing nations. Participation by figures such as Callaghan helped connect the Foundation’s work with established political and public institutions in Britain.

Callaghan was also recorded among the trustees associated with the Cambridge Commonwealth Trust, alongside Abedi and other international figures. The Trust supported scholarships for overseas and Commonwealth students studying at the University of Cambridge.

The association crossed political, educational and development fields. It demonstrated Abedi’s efforts to involve experienced public figures in institutions intended to continue beyond individual donations or short-term projects.

Callaghan’s participation should not be interpreted as involvement in BCCI’s management. His relevance lies in the public and educational institutions with which both men were associated.

Kenneth Kaunda

Former President of Zambia and supporter of educational cooperation
Former Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda was associated with Abedi through BCCI’s presence in Africa and through later educational initiatives.

Kaunda belonged to a generation of African leaders concerned with political independence, national development and the education of future generations. These priorities overlapped with Abedi’s interest in expanding access to education for students from developing countries.

Contemporary material recorded Kaunda and Abedi among the trustees associated with the Cambridge Commonwealth Trust.

The Trust sought to assist students from Commonwealth countries who had obtained admission to the University of Cambridge but required financial support. BCCI’s participation helped fund scholarships and extend opportunities to students who might otherwise have been unable to study there.

Kaunda’s association demonstrates how a relationship first formed in an international or political setting could later extend into education.

His role also illustrates the international composition of Abedi’s wider network. Leaders and former leaders from developing countries were not treated simply as potential sources of banking business. Some became participants in institutions concerned with education, research and development.

The Third World Foundation

Abedi established the Foundation with BCCI support to promote greater understanding of the economic and social problems facing developing countries.

Although the Third World Foundation was an institution rather than an individual, it provides the principal context for many of the relationships in this section.

Its work included:

supporting research and publications;
organising lectures, conferences and international discussions;
bringing together political leaders, economists, academics and policymakers;
examining poverty, inequality and international economic relations;
promoting cooperation among developing countries; and
encouraging dialogue between developing and industrialised nations.

The Foundation was associated with the publication of Third World Quarterly, which provided a forum for scholarship and debate on international development and global affairs.

It also established the Third World Prize, intended to recognise individuals who had made important contributions to development and international cooperation.

The Foundation reflected Abedi’s belief that financial assistance alone could not resolve the difficulties facing poorer countries. They also required research institutions, informed debate, independent intellectual capacity and opportunities to present their own perspectives internationally.

Figures such as Shridath Ramphal, Michael Manley and James Callaghan became associated with Abedi partly through this institutional setting.

Global 2000

Global 2000 represented the practical and operational side of Abedi’s development work.

Where the Third World Foundation concentrated substantially on research, publications and international discussion, Global 2000 pursued programmes in areas such as:

agriculture and food production;
rural health;
child immunisation;
control of contagious and preventable diseases;
cooperation with national governments; and
the mobilisation of financial and technical assistance.

Abedi, Jimmy Carter and Ryoichi Sasakawa served in leading roles. BCCI supplied substantial financial and logistical support, while participating governments and technical organisations contributed local knowledge, personnel and implementation capacity.

Projects were undertaken in several developing countries. In Bangladesh, Ghana, Sudan and Nigeria, programmes addressed combinations of public health, immunisation, disease control, agriculture and rural development.

These activities enabled Abedi to apply BCCI’s international organisation and resources to objectives outside commercial banking.

They also reflected his belief that successful development required cooperation among governments, technical experts, international public figures and private sources of funding.

From charitable giving to lasting institutions

Abedi’s approach was not confined to making donations in response to immediate needs.

He sought to establish or support institutions capable of continuing their work over time. These included foundations, educational trusts, research organisations, medical institutions and development programmes.

This approach can be seen in:

the Third World Foundation’s research, conferences and publications;
Global 2000’s health and agricultural programmes;
scholarship support through the Cambridge Commonwealth Trust;
medical and educational institutions supported in Pakistan;
charitable foundations established or supported in other countries; and
proposals for greater economic and financial cooperation among developing nations.

Some initiatives were funded directly through BCCI. Others were supported through organisations established by Abedi or through partnerships with governments and international figures.

This close connection between BCCI and Abedi’s philanthropic activities later attracted criticism, particularly where questions arose about the source, control or accounting treatment of funds. Such questions should be examined on their evidence.

They do not remove the need to consider what the programmes actually did, who participated in them and what benefits they provided.

Relationships with a practical purpose

The individuals profiled in this section were not connected with Abedi in identical ways.

Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter were associated with international humanitarian programmes.

Ryoichi Sasakawa contributed philanthropic resources and international connections.

Shridath Ramphal brought diplomatic experience and a powerful voice on development and global inequality.

Michael Manley contributed to debates about economic justice and the position of developing countries.

James Callaghan and Kenneth Kaunda were associated with institutions supporting development and educational opportunity.

What connected these relationships was Abedi’s belief that influential individuals, financial resources and institutional expertise could be brought together in support of wider objectives.

The relationships were therefore not important merely because the people concerned were well known. Their importance lies in the organisations, programmes and ideas with which they were associated.

A note on interpretation

Inclusion in this section does not establish that an individual:

participated in the management of BCCI;
knew about misconduct later alleged against particular BCCI officers or customers;
endorsed every aspect of Abedi’s banking activities;
received a personal financial benefit from BCCI;
maintained a close personal friendship with Abedi; or
was responsible for the way BCCI described or publicised the association.

The available evidence must distinguish between personal friendship, institutional participation, honorary involvement, professional cooperation, financial support and attendance at particular events.

It is also important to distinguish the merits of a development programme from any reputational advantage that BCCI or Abedi may have obtained by supporting it. Both considerations may have existed at the same time.

An evolving record

This is not a complete account of the people associated with Abedi’s development and philanthropic work.

Further profiles may be added as records relating to Global 2000, the Third World Foundation, the Cambridge Commonwealth Trust and other organisations are examined.

The aim is to assess these relationships through documentary evidence and to understand the institutions and programmes to which they contributed.

Together, they reveal an important aspect of Abedi’s outlook: his belief that a financial institution could use its international reach, organisational capacity and human relationships to support wider work in health, agriculture, education, research and development.

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Research Note

This account reflects the documentary material available at the time of writing. Profiles may be revised as further correspondence, institutional records, photographs and independent sources become available. Inclusion does not imply participation in BCCI’s management or knowledge of any alleged wrongdoing.