Product competitiveness is the right recipe to make a strong presence in global market which is possible through research and development in the industry, said Yaser Sakhi Butt, President Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industrty.
"The research and development could also improve existing processes and reduce cost of production. In developing countries like Pakistan, there should be a strong and powerful swing towards research and product development", he said in a statement issued here on Monday.
Butt said that indigenous research was much needed for creating a strong economic progress and exploiting the full potential of available huge amount of resources to cope up with prevailing economic challenges.
He was responding to the reports that Pakistan trailed behind Turkey and Iran in scientific research publication and ranked 43rd while India ranked 9th world-wide.
He said that we should not pursue traditional strategies and move towards research-oriented economy for competing in the international market. The ICCI President underlined the need to bridge the gap between academia and industry in Pakistan and said, focusing on research especially in science and technology would help in reducing manufacturing costs, producing better products to make industry more competitive.
Yaser Sakhi Butt said that college and university level encouragement in research and development programmes along with chambers would help to develop new technologies and new products.
He emphasised that the government should also focus on increasing its exports in the agri-sector through research and developing more varieties of agriculture produce.