KARACHI, May 15: Arif Naqvi, the founder and chief executive officer of the Abraaj Group, has been chosen as one of the five honourees under the 2013 Oslo Business for Peace Award.

Mr Naqvi was given the award at a ceremony in Oslo, Norway, by the Mayor of Oslo, Stian Berger Rosland, and the chairman of the Business for Peace Foundation, Per L. Saxegaard, a press release of the group said on Wednesday.

It said the Oslo Business for Peace Award was awarded after an extensive search conducted jointly by the International Chamber of Commerce, United Nations Development Programme and the Oslo-based Business for Peace Foundation.

The jury for the 2013 edition of the award comprised Nobel Laureates Professor Muhammad Yunus and Professor Michael A. Spence.

Mr Naqvi is the first Pakistani and the first chief executive from the global private equity industry to have received the award, according to the press release.

The Abraaj Group is a leading investor operating in Asia, Middle East and North Africa, Turkey and Central Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America.

It is currently managing $7.5 billion across 25 sector- and country-specific funds.