The Competitiveness Support Fund’s work on improving Pakistan’s economy through its three operational windows has resulted in increased attentiveness on the importance of competitiveness among the public and private sector.

Islamabad, 15 September, 2008 – The Competitiveness Support Fund (CSF), a joint initiative of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Ministry of Finance, Government of Pakistan, has observed increased interest in the public and private sector on its work and available resources on competitiveness and related matters. CSF recorded 130,029 on its website this month, which clearly indicates a growing interest on the issues of competitiveness among the cross sectors in Pakistan’s economy.

CSF has been working closely with the government, academia and the public/private sector to reposition Pakistan’s economy on a more competitive global footing.

The CSF website carries reports on competitiveness and sector management. The State of Pakistan’s Competitiveness Report is CSF’s flagship report and provides an in-depth analysis of Pakistan’s economy with an overview of its strengths, weaknesses and required action plan to improve the state of the economy.

The main focus of the record number of CSF website hits in August was on the Fund’s annual report which was recently published, highlighting its various collaborations with prominent stakeholders and the impact and achievements of its interventions.

Last year was a productive period in which CSF carried out various new endeavors and initiatives to boost the economic development of Pakistan. The Chief Executive Officer of CSF, Arthur Bayhan said: “CSF has had a remarkable work year with lots of achievements. As of result of our interventions, the new government has embraced competitiveness as the cornerstone of economic growth and has responded encouragingly to the information on the pillars of competitiveness provided by CSF through its Executive Opinion Survey (EOS) and the State of Pakistan’s Competitiveness Report”.

The CSF annual report reflects efforts ranging from the macro-economy to specific private sector issues. The results have been measurable in terms of the fiscal and budgetary allocations made by the Government. For each of the policy analysis studies that CSF has undertaken (e.g., Food Processing, Horticulture, Fisheries, Information and Communications Technology (ICT), Motorcycles and Special Economic Zones, Investment Strategy), the Government has responded to the suggestions by making budget provisions and policy changes that will facilitate these sectors in realizing their competitive potential.

One of CSF’s most successful efforts has been its Communication and Outreach strategy, through which it has successfully attracted the media’s attention to competitiveness. The Stanford University Innovative Journalism Program has been one of CSF’s most innovative efforts to improve the standard of reporting and analysis on economic issues. The program has set a standard for increasing the awareness of journalists to the issues that arise in competitiveness with articles published internationally in Fortune Magazine and on CNET News. During the year CSF also contributed a section to the core Poverty Reduction Strategy that provides the basis of the government’s approach to linking poverty reduction to economic growth.

USAID’s support for CSF is part of the $2.8 billion aid that the U.S. Government has provided to Pakistan since 2002 to improve economic growth, education, health, and governance and to reconstruct the earthquake-affected areas.