News: PM terms competitiveness cornerstone of growth strategy
Name of the Newspaper: The Post
Date of publication: Tuesday, March 13 , 2007
Website:http://thepost.com.pk/

ISLAMABAD: "Pakistan intends to become a competitive and high-growth country to stand steadfast in today's globalised world," said Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, while addressing a gathering of corporate leaders at the launching ceremony of country's first-ever report on competitiveness on Monday.

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz termed competitiveness as the cornerstone of country's growth strategy. He said the state of Pakistan's competitiveness report will help create more productive, knowledge-based and innovation-driven national economy.

The report, prepared by the Competitiveness Support Fund (CSF), a joint initiative of Finance Ministry and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), is based on reviewing objective data and then formulating a plan to increase Pakistan's competitiveness and to catalyze future economic growth and extensive poverty reduction.

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz addressing a launvhing ceremony of the report on "Competitiveness: A Cornerstone of PaKistan's Growth Strategy" held at Prime Minister Secretariat.- Staff Photo by Sajjad Ali Qureshi

Talking about the report, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said, "We have come up with an effort to position Pakistan in the world of tomorrow through the report on competitiveness. It will help grow us accordingly to get into the global economic mainstream." He said improving competitiveness was the joint responsibility of the government and the private sector. He asked the private sector to improve the quality of their products and services according to global standards rather than making hefty advertisements. He said the government was ready to act as enabler to facilitate business activity in the country to help companies refigure for better competitiveness. He said the government during the last seven years rescued the country's economy by "institutionalizing and depersonalising" the economic sector.

"Pakistan is now on a radar screen of many countries who want to invest in this growing economy. We want Pakistan to be at the leading edge and to adjust itself to the world of tomorrow," he said.

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said the government was determined to carve its niche in the economic world and was committed to innovating for making Pakistan a vibrant economy.

Pointing out the market efficiency as an area needing the attention of business sector, he said, "Market efficiency is an area where we clearly have to go a long way. We need better supply chain, then the whole area will improve in competitiveness." He said the CSF would work in partnership with the World Economic Forum (WEF), the US Competitiveness Council and the Lisbon Agenda of the European Union. He also mentioned his meeting in Davos with Professor Michael Porter of the Harvard Business School to focus on the ways and means to improve Pakistan's competitiveness.

Talking on the occasion, Dr Salman Shah, Advisor to Prime Minister on Finance, said the new initiatives would help raise Pakistan's overall global competitiveness ranking from 91st during 2006 to among the top 70 by 2010 with the creation of a more investment-driven economy.

The "State of Pakistan's Competitiveness Report" would foster broader understanding of country's competitiveness challenges and stimulate debate among the government, business, education, civil society and regional leaders on priority actions, he said. In his presentation, Arthur Bayhan, Chief Executive Officer of CSF, briefed the audience about the WEF's Global Competitiveness Report on Pakistan and said the country was consistently improving in terms of competitiveness and dynamism.

He termed Pakistan government "an agent and catalyst" for change in the private sector.

He urged the government agencies and non-governmental organisations to update the data and submit it to international sources.

USAID Mission Director Jonathen Addleton said the agency was appreciative of Pakistan's economic reforms.

He reiterated the USAID's long-term support for competitiveness and economic growth activities in Pakistan.

The messages of Dr Klaus Schwab, founder and Chairman World Economic Forum and Professor Michael Porter, a Harvard expert on competitiveness was also screened on the occasion.