"Pakistan must capitalise on its strengths and improve on its weaknesses on the Global Competitiveness Index of the World Economic Forum", Arthur Bayhan, CEO of the Competitiveness Support Fund (CSF), stated this on Tuesday.
The CSF presentation was a part of CSF's initiative to bring all the line-ministries on board to improve Pakistan's ranking on the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) of the World Economic Forum. Pakistan is ranked 91 on the GCI in 2006, where Pakistan showed improvement of 3 rankings from 94 to 91 in 2005.
Speaking on the occasion, Abdur Rauf Chaudhry, Secretary of the Housing and Works Ministry, informed the CSF delegation that his Ministry launched the National Housing Policy in 2001 and it is now co-ordinating with CBR and the provincial governments on various issues concerning the housing sector. He also said that, "the ministry is undertaking initiatives to provide appropriate housing for the low income groups".
CEO of the CSF in his presentation briefed the ministry on the strengths and weaknesses of the global indicators related to the housing sector in the Global Competitiveness Report (GCR) of the World Economic Forum. He further elaborated the rational behind the indicators and pointed out that the data used for these indicators is not up-to-date. He said that the government made tremendous progress in the last four years and improved almost all the indicators.
Abdul Basit, Joint Secretary, Prime Minister's Special Programme Wing, Ministry of Finance informed the meeting that the Prime Minister's Special Programme Wing (PMSP) has been tasked to co-ordinate with all the ministries for a close interaction to work with the CSF on improving Pakistan's competitiveness ranking. He also pointed out that other countries in the region are improving their competitiveness by investing in their infrastructure and Pakistan should not be left behind.
CSF is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Finance Government of Pakistan and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) CSF Supports Pakistan's goal to be of a more competitiveness 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. Support for SCF 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.-PR
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