ISLAMABAD, Sept 12: The visiting US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte has stressed the urgent need for improving the competitiveness of the Pakistani economy and assured to provide necessary financial and technical support for it.

Informed sources said that during his meetings with senior Pakistani officials, he and his delegation identified several gaps in the performance of important sectors of the economy and proposed a series of interventions to accelerate the adoption of practical competitiveness-building initiatives in the country.

These gaps included lack of innovative approaches and linkages between the academic community and industry, poor dialogue on policy and reform issues, slow commercialisation of innovation and weakness in the legal framework for a viable economic environment.

Mr Negroponte said that the Competitiveness Support Fund (CSF), a joint venture of the ministry of finance and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), was designed to address these gaps.

According to the officials CSF will support Pakistan’s goal of a more competitive economy by providing input into policy decisions, working to improve regulatory and administrative frameworks and enhancing public-private partnerships within the country.

The CSF will also provide 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.

CSF activities will help all producers along the value chain that contribute to ultimate product quality. By obtaining better value and better prices for quality products, and improving cooperation throughout the Pakistani economy, the CSF will contribute to poverty alleviation by providing more income for producers and better employment prospects for employees.

Through the impact of CSF’s activities on supporting economic development, the Pakistan government has included for the first time ever competitiveness into the Poverty Reduction Strategy for the next 5 years, which includes: private sector development; intensifying deregulation, privatisation and liberalisation, enhancing competitiveness and productivity, special economic zones, value-addition in agriculture and riding the globalisation wave in export markets.

As an extension to the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) activity, CSF also carried out a study on Special Economic Zones (SEZs) by benchmarking Pakistan against China, India, Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand. Globalised economies require policies based on de-regulation, privatisation and liberalisation.