QUALITY INFRASTRUCTURE ESSENTIAL DRIVER OF COMPETITIVENESS IN ECONOMIC GROWTHCategory: Business
Article added by: Amir Jahangir
Roundtable on Infrastructure and Energy identifies key areas for economic growth in Pakistan
The existence of quality infrastructure is critical for ensuring the efficient functioning of the economy, as it is an important factor determining the location of economic activity, this was the conclusion of the roundtable on Infrastructure and Energy conducted by the Competitiveness Support Fund (CSF) for the State of Pakistan’s Competitiveness Report 2008.
The roundtable was attended by stakeholders from the energy and petroleum, telecommunication, media and services sectors. Representatives from the Board of Investment and the World Economic Forum also attended the meeting. The participants discussed and agreed that high-quality infrastructure reduces the effect of distance between suppliers and consumers in and outside Pakistan, with the result of truly integrating the national market and connecting it to markets in other countries and regions.
Quality infrastructure is an essential driver of competitiveness, significantly impacting economic growth and reducing income inequalities and poverty in a variety of ways. The Board of Investment informed the participants that, the government of Pakistan is preparing a well-developed transport and communications infrastructure network as a prerequisite for the efficient functioning of markets and for export growth, as well as for poor communities’ ability to connect to core economic activities and schools.
CSF made a presentation on Pakistan’s competitiveness on the Infrastructure Pillar, as identified by the World Economic Forum in its Global Competitiveness report 2007-2008. CSF briefed the participants that effective modes of transport for goods, people, and services, such as quality roads, railroads, ports, and air transport, enable entrepreneurs to get their goods to market in a secure and timely manner, and facilitate the movement of workers around the country to the most suitable jobs. Economies also depend on electricity supplies that are free of interruptions and shortages, to ensure that businesses and factories can work unimpeded.
Finally, a solid and extensive telecommunications network allows for a rapid and free flow of information, which increases overall economic efficiency by helping to ensure that decisions made by economic actors take into account all available relevant information.
The roundtable was the second in a series of stakeholder interaction that the CSF has been carrying out for the drafting of the State of Pakistan’s Competitiveness Report 2008. The Competitiveness Support Fund (CSF) was launched in 2006 to as a joint initiative of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Ministry of Finance (MoF) to reposition Pakistan’s economy on a more competitive global footing.
The roundtable addressed Pakistan’s performance on the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) of the World Economic Forum. CSF informed the participants that the State of Pakistan’s Competitiveness Report 2008 will identify the gaps in Pakistan’s economy and will be a policy guideline for the stakeholders in the public and private sectors as well as the academia in Pakistan. CSF explained the methodology adopted by the World Economic Forum for measuring the 131 economies on the 12 pillars. Pakistan among the 131 countries is ranked at 72 on the Infrastructure pillar. The infrastructure pillar comprises of the sub indices, where Pakistan is ranked as following: Quality of overall infrastructure (70), Quality of roads (61), Quality of railroads infrastructure (45), Quality of port infrastructure (68), Quality of air transport infrastructure (78), Available seat kilometers (42, Quality of electricity supply (107), and Telephone lines (107).
The Global Competitiveness Report 2007-2008 has identified inadequate supply of infrastructure as the most problematic factors of doing business in Pakistan. However, the GCI has identified quality of railroads and available seat kilometers as sectors having the competitive advantage in Pakistan.
The 'State of Pakistan's Competitiveness Report 2008' will track Pakistan's performance, spotlighting the areas of progress and areas of further focus. In addition to explaining the results of the Global Competitiveness Report of 2007-2008 of the World Economic Forum and benchmarking Pakistan's progress, the report will evaluate Pakistan's progress in improving its competitiveness in 2008-09. Each of the areas of recommendations will be assessed based on tangible, measurable results.
CSF also informed the participants that the report will be an important policy tool for the Pakistan's economic growth agenda and for private sector investment in Pakistan. The report will also include the action plan and timetable to improve key industries that will boost the economic growth of Pakistan.
CSF, as the partner institution of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Pakistan, is working closely with the Global Competitiveness Network of the WEF on this report. CSF will be meeting all relevant ministries, leading public and private sector institutions, business councils and trade bodies along with academia and the media to engage its stakeholders through consultative input and feedback on the issues of competitiveness.
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.
Posted By: Amir Jahangir
Web: http://www.competitiveness.org.pk
Contact: e-mail
| About the Author: |
| Amir Jahangir is a strategic communication and media professional with over 15 years of experience with leading communications and media organizations. He is currently associated with the Competitiveness Support Fund, as a consultant on media and communication. He is also working on a medium- to long-term media development strategy for Pakistan as the incharge for the Innovation Journalism Program for Pakistan, a program in collaboration with the Stanford University on Innovation Journalism. He is the strategic communication consultant to various other initiatives on economic and strategic development for competitiveness and innovation.
Amir is also the Founder and Chief Strategy Officer for Mishal (Pvt.) Limited. Mishal was launched to fulfill the need for media consultancy in Pakistan, keeping in view various industry developments requiring strategic media communication including content strategy, marketing, human resource development and technical needs of the media industry.
Most recently, he was on the forefront of the media industry in Pakistan as the Chief Executive Officer of Television Business Production Limited, the leading production company for business and economic news programs in the country. He was also responsible for the strategic planning, content management and operations management, as the CEO and board member of the Vision Network Television Limited, which has recently launched the first internationally branded business and economic news channel CNBC Pakistan. Amir has been associated with various research and consultancy firms for research and analysis on various sectors including telecom, media, information communication technology and other socio-economic issues.
On the personal front, Amir has been married for over four years and resides in central Islamabad. While his work involves extensive traveling, which has now become his passion; he also makes time for classical music, poetry and books. |
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