The Patriot

News: CSF provided platform by linking finance to innovation and competitiveness
Name of the Newspaper: The Patriot
Date of publication: Thursday, 13 September, 2007

ISLAMABAD: The Competitiveness Support Fund (CSF) has provided a platform by linking finance to innovation and competitiveness for promoting sustained economic development of the country. Ministry of Finance sources told APP, that Government, private sector academia and media are working together to promote economic 'development in Pakistan.

The Competitiveness Support Fund a joint initiative of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Ministry of Finance, Government of Pakistan.

Both the sides were able to create a relevant platform by using one of the best practices in emerging market economies to create a dialogue between government, private sector, academia and making media part of the triple helix to promote competitiveness for sustained economic growth in Pakistan, they remarked. They said that recognized as the father of Competitiveness at the Harvard Business School, Prof Michael Porter and Prof. Klaus Schwab of the World Economic Forum;

Pakistan has been identified as one of the top 10 countries in Business Dynamism and Market Flexibility. "Pakistan has shown serious efforts in improving its competitiveness ranking which the World Economic Forum measures annually", said Prof. Schwab.

"The seriousness and efforts put in the last one year by the government of Pakistan and the cooperation with the private sector that CSF is creating remarkable", added Schwab.

Prime Minister, Shaukat Aziz has termed "Competitiveness as the coroner stone of Pakistan's growth strategy".

In a short span of a little more then one year, the Competitiveness Support Fund has proved to be one of the most effective joint initiative undertaken by two governments anywhere in the developing economies.

The CSF has become the focal point for engaging both the public and .private sector leaders to address the economic issues jointly, the efforts initiated by CSF have brought together the stakeholders on the leading competitiveness issues of the economy.-APP