“Pakistan Focusing on Competitiveness for Long-term Economic Growth, Economic Leaders Gather to Focus on Pakistan's Competitiveness”

ISLAMABAD, May 15, 2006 - Advisor to Prime Minister on Finance Revenue and Statistics, Dr. Salman Shah has lauded the economic policies of the present regime as conducive for containing poverty and unemployment.

Speaking at the inaugural session of TCI Conference, organized by the Competitiveness Support Fund, he announced a 8.4 percent increase in GDP, over the previous year. This has produced a dynamic effect on the economic development of the country, creating new opportunities for employment and elimination of poverty.

He said that private sector has been given incentives and all benefits, and people have started to trust the future planning and projects of the regime.

Dr. Salman Shah said that the Competitiveness Support Fund has been established with the help of USAID, according to which USAID has so far disbursed US$ 12 million. The European Union has also expressed their interest in collaborating on this initiative. The Asian Development Bank and World Bank have been contacted for more funds.

Speaking on the occasion, US Ambassador to Pakistan Mr. Ryan. C. Crocker lauded the economic development policies as initiated by President General Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. He announced a package of US$1.5 billion for various projects in the coming five years. He said US$ 1.5 billion will be spend on education, health, governance as well as the earthquake affected areas through USAID platform. Within the economic growth portfolio major sectors that have received assistance include Dairy, Marble and Granite, Gems and Jewelry.

He also said that both sides have also decided to establish reconstruction opportunities zones on Afghan border as well as the reconstruction opportunities in the Federally Administered Areas (FATA).

State Minister for Finance Omar Ayub, who also addressed the occasion, said that Pakistan's speeding economic development has increased its needs of energy requirements, and to fulfill these, four mega Dams, including the Kalabagh Dam would be constructed, during the next ten years, which would help produce electricity up to 4000 MWs, and would earn the exchequer a revenue of US$ 4 billion annually.

He cited the work on Bhasha Dam, which has commenced, while Akhori, Munda and Kalabagh Dam would be constructed in near future. He said after 2000, a stable and persistent economic policy of the regime has brought conducive results, and during the past four years, 10 textile projects have invested about US$ 5 billion; livestock is being upgraded and 4percent of GDP is to be spent on health and education. He added that all exclusive powers had been taken away from income tax officers, and bank reserves, which were empty, had flooded due to conducive privatization; 66percent of banks belong to the private sector.

He said that 6 years before the overall economic weightings amounted to US$ 62 billion, which has currently swelled to US$125 billion.

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About The Competitiveness Support Fund (CSF)

The Competitiveness Support Fund (CSF) grows out of a benchmarking exercise that identified a gap in Pakistan’s efforts to become more competitive: the need for a vehicle to finance and support interventions that drive innovation, promote cluster development, establish linkages between academia and industry, encourage formation of innovative business incubator programs and venture capital, promote knowledge based enterprise development, create better jobs and boost innovation-driven long-term economic growth.

The principal objective of CSF is to: 1. Promote knowledge- based enterprise start-ups and increase the productivity of the country’s enterprises, 2. Enhance the quality of the services and create new and better job opportunities, 3. Improve regulatory framework for viable business environment, and 4. Reinforce innovation-driven economic growth.

About the TCI Regional Conference on Competitiveness and Economic Growth in Asia, 14 – 16 May, 2006 in Islamabad

Islamabad is the host of TCI Regional Conference on Competitiveness and Economic Growth for Asia and Pacific from May 14 - 16, 2006: Benchmarking Pakistan's Global Competitiveness. The conference is organized by the Competitiveness Support Fund (CSF), which is jointly supported by the Ministry of Finance, Government of Pakistan and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and under the Auspices of The Competitiveness

Support Fund.
For more information on conference, please visit http://www.competitiveness.org/article/articleview/752/1/10/

About The Competitiveness Institute (TCI)
www.competitiveness.org

TCI is a global professional body with members in 40 nations and a network of the competitiveness experts and cluster practitioners worldwide. The TCI network provides a valuable resources for all triple helix actors with exchange of ideas, best practice and know-how regarding methodologies for economic growth. The Board of the TCI composes the well known innovation competitiveness individuals, including Prof. Michael Porter and Prof. Michael Enright. TCI's mission is to promote innovation-driven economic growth by fostering cluster-based development initiatives throughout the world.