The Competitiveness Support Fund’s Annual Report shows remarkable achievements in provision of competitiveness solutions to enhance the economic growth of Pakistan.

Islamabad, 25 July – 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, today published its annual report, highlighting its various collaborations with the prominent stakeholders of Pakistan’s economy and the impact and achievements of its interventions.

Established in 2006, 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. According to the Global Competitiveness Report, which is published each year by the World Economic Forum, Pakistan’s ranking is showing no improvement and is further on the decline (in 2007 Pakistan was ranked 92nd out of 131 countries).

The Chief Executive Officer of CSF, Arthur Bayhan said: “Pakistan, with its increasing economic challenges, requires that the issues impacting the competitiveness of the economy are those which are tackled on an immediate basis. We believe that the best outcomes can be achieved when we coordinate across a broad continuum of stakeholders and donors. By combining our efforts with those of other organizations, we can improve the economic health of Pakistan”.

According to the annual report of CSF, last year was a productive period in which CSF carried out various new endeavors and initiatives to boost the economic development of Pakistan. Bayhan added that “As a result of CSF interventions, the new government has embraced competitiveness as the continued 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, including policy environment 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 and studies that CSF has undertaken (e.g., Investment Strategy, Policy, Special Economic Zones, Food Processing, Horticulture, Fisheries, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and Motorcycles), the Government has responded to the suggestions by making budget provisions and policy changes that will facilitate these sectors in realizing their competitive potential.

During the year CSF helped to establish a Prime Ministerial Committee on Fisheries, a Ministerial Task Force for Horticulture Finance, reducing import duties for and providing R&D support to the motorcycle industry, restructured the Board of Investment, assisted PEMRA to change its licensing requirements and established a National Investor Council – all significant achievements within the most important economic sectors.

The approach and methodology developed by CSF for the Executive Opinion Survey has also been adopted by the World Economic Forum for use in all its member countries, which is another remarkable achievement for CSF on a global scale. 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. One of CSF’s most innovative programmes to improve the national reporting and analysis on economic issues is the Stanford University Innovative Journalism Program. This programme 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 the economic growth.

CSF is also supporting Pakistan’s goal of a more competitive economy by providing a Business Incubator/Matching Grants facility, which focuses on developing grant based projects for up-gradation of economic competitiveness at a micro level. This is done through providing financial assistance through a grant to support developing a knowledge-based enterprise sector in Pakistan. This initiative is expected to bring in a new investment of more than USD 10.5 million (630 million Rupees) for a total project cost of USD 2.8 million (168 million Rupees). More than 90 new business and enterprises are expected to emerge from this initiative, creating more than 11,500 jobs in Pakistan.

Support for CSF is part of the $ 1.5 billion in aid that the US Government is providing to Pakistan over five years to improve economic growth, education, health and governance.