Making Pakistan economic growth competitive vital: Shahbaz Sharif

Lahore, May 4, 2009: Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif today stressed on the importance of making economic growth in Pakistan competitive, equitable and sustainable.

He was speaking at the second meeting of the National Policy Platform for Competitiveness & Economic Growth (NPPCEG) chaired by Shahid Javed Burki and attended by the World Bank and stakeholders from all four provinces of Pakistan.

“Making growth competitive, equitable and sustainable is no small task. It requires a carefully orchestrated institutional and policy coordination through broad-based participation of all the key stakeholders. In this respect the National Policy Platform has an important role to play,” the Chief Minister appreciated.

Mian Shahbaz Sharif went on to say that the NPPCEG’s systematic and research oriented approach towards highlighting policy impediments to economic growth would provide invaluable insights in to how to overcome constraints to Pakistan’s socio-economic development.”

The National Policy Platform is an initiative of the Competitiveness Support Fund (CSF) which has successfully brought the private, public and academic leadership together on the platform under the chairmanship of Shahid Javed Burki.

CSF is a joint initiative of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Ministry of Finance, Government of Pakistan established to position Pakistan’s economy on a more global competitive footing.

Today, NPPCEG chairman, Mr. Shahid Javed Burki piloted the discussion on the need for a determining an appropriate model of growth for Pakistan, highlighting the parameters and framework of various models through time and currently in place in other countries. He asked whether Pakistan should rely on industrialization or opt for agriculture, agro processing and various modern sectors as the engines of growth.

Mr. Burki emphasized that an assessment was needed of Pakistan’s endowments on which the country could build its conomic future as well develop a good understanding of the changes that have occurred and are occurring in the country’s external economic environment.

Turning to the state of Pakistan development, Mr. Burki said, “Pakistan is different from other developing countries in the sense that older enterprises are more efficient and productive than those that are relatively new. This is one indication that the newer enterprises are not as technologically more advanced as would be expected as compared to those established earlier. For Pakistan to move forward economically it is the small enterprises in the informal sector that must become the focus of public policy.”

At its initial meeting last month NPPCEG identified 12 priority areas of strategic intervention and today Mr. Burki once again visited them briefly in his address. He emphasized areas of specific attention included, demographic asymmetry and demographic window of opportunity; human resource development; construction industry; trade facilitation; Retail trade; agricultural marketing; urbanization, urban employment and urban services; Fiscal decentralization and the use of fiscal policy for influencing inter personal nd inter regional income distributions; private health insurance; pension funds; developing a supporting legal framework; and technological backwardness.

Representatives at the Platform discussed and highlighted the main issues Pakistan faces including the appropriateness of the development model in a country in Pakistan’s situation as well the kind of strategy that should be pursued to sustain high rates of uninterrupted growth.

Papers and presentations were made on policy priorities, research priorities, policy research and the construction industry. Representatives of the Government of Balochistan and of the Government of NWFP also presented papers.

The role of private think-tanks to form and shape public policy and the need for a strong relationship between the government, the Platform and the media in this critical area were also discussed. The World Bank presentation dealt with the policy issues concerning the development of the Pakistani firm as a catalyst for economic change in Pakistan.

Mr. Arthur Bayhan, Chief Executive Officer of the Competitiveness Support Fund, 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 multiple organizations, we can improve the economic health of Pakistan”.

The NPPCEG was established in the wake of the unprecedented economic crisis the country is facing. It is the consequence of both long-enduring structural problems in the economy as well as a number of external shocks delivered to the economy in the last year. In order to tackle this situation the Government of Pakistan has set up a number of bodies that will assist it with analyzing and developing the appropriate public policy responses to the crisis.

The Government is working to assimilate the advice and information generated by these bodies into comprehensive public policy. However, given the difficult economic situation faced by the country which threatens the pace of economic growth, an innovative approach is needed.

The initiative is based on the belief that a continuous dialogue among different segments of society will not only improve the quality of public policy, but will also give broad-based support to the development of an appropriate public policy framework.

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.

CSF supports Pakistan’s goal to have a competitive economy by providing input into policy decisions, working to improve regulatory and administrative frameworks and enhancing public-private partnerships within the country. CSF also provides technical assistance and co-financing for initiatives related to entrepreneurship, business incubators and private-sector-led initiatives with research institutes and universities that contribute to creating a knowledge-driven economy.

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.