Global Competitiveness Report 2016-2017 Ranks Pakistan at 122 among 138 countries.

Global Competitiveness Report 2016-2017 Ranks Pakistan at 122 among 138 countries.

Pakistan improves four points on the Global Competitiveness Index of the World Economic Forum. For the eighth consecutive year, Switzerland ranks as the most competitive economy in the world, narrowly ahead of Singapore and the United States.

Pakistan has shown some extraordinary recovery on the economic front, where the country has been successful in improving its macroeconomic framework to improve its global competitiveness.

Pakistan is classified as a factor driven economy, which basically depends on improving its institutions, infrastructure, macroeconomic stability, health and primary education indicators. Pakistan improved from 119 to 111 on the institutions pillars, while infrastructure improved only one point and stands at 116 this year. On the Macroeconomic Stability Pillar Pakistan jumped from 128 in 2015 to 116. A solid 12 points gain, which shows the country has made economic progress on gross national savings percentage of GDP, where Pakistan improved from 115 in 2015 to 107 this year. While the government debt percentage to GDP also ranks at 95 among 138 economies in the world. The biggest gain however is in the area of inflation; annual percentage change where Pakistan moved from 127 in 2015 to 93 in 2016.

On other pillars, among 138 countries, Pakistan ranks at Health and Primary Education 128, Higher Education and Training 123, Goods Market Efficiency 117, Labour Market Efficiency 129, Financial Market Sophistication 107, Technological Readiness 119, Market Size 29, Business Sophistication 95 and Innovation 75.

Amir Jahangir, Chief Executive Officer of Mishal Pakistan, the Country Partner Institute of the Global Competitiveness and Benchmarking Network of the World Economic Forum said, “Pakistan has shown improvements on some of the key indicators to improve its global competitiveness, however the country still needs to integrate itself into the digital and cyber world. Pakistan with approx. 186 million population offers great prospects if data and knowledge-based policy making is introduced in the country”. He further said, “decision making based on big-data can enable the governments to engage their citizens in policy making and democratization of development process. In the fourth industrial revolution Pakistan can make a larger digital footprint in the cyber world, thus making its mark on the global policy making, however the country needs to equip its next generation with education and knowledge through digital services and mobile broadband”.

This year among 114 global competitiveness indicators, Pakistan showed improvements on 54 key indices, whereas on 50 indices the country lost its previous position. While 10 indices remained same as last year.
   

Pakistan at 122, ranks last amongst its South Asian neighbors, where India leads at 39 followed by Sri Lanka 71, Bhutan 97, Nepal 98 and Bangladesh at 106. South Asia continues its upward trend as competitiveness improves in most countries in the region. India has been the best performer, climbing to 39th from 55th last year. Over the past decade, the subcontinent has focused on improving overall health and primary education levels and upgrading available infrastructure, areas of particular importance given the resource-driven nature of its economy. However, the latter remains the second weakest spot in the region, just after technological readiness.

To improve the soft-data on Pakistan, the World Economic Forum closely worked with Mishal Pakistan, the country partner institute of the Global Competitiveness and Benchmarking Network of WEF. This year a total of 350 respondents from the business community were reached out through the annual Executive Opinion Survey, whereas 114 were selected from last year and 236 from this year. The World Economic Forum reached out to 14,000 business executives globally.

The report also shows performance of some of the key regulatory bodies and other government institutions, which have shown progress as well. Among 138 countries the institutions are ranked as following: Intellectual Property Organization (109), Judicial Independence (88), Police Services (118), Auditor General of Pakistan Revenues (121), National Highways Authority (77), Pakistan Railways (53), Civil Aviation Authority (91), NEPRA (121), Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (115), National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (97), Competition Commission of Pakistan (96), Pakistan Customs (113), State Bank of Pakistan among other 138 Central Banks at (101), Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan at (106) and Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (135). The SEC of Pakistan has been losing its global ranking at an alarming rate from 51 in 2014 to 106 this year. 

 

The report also indicates that a ten-year decline in the openness of economies at all stages of development poses a risk to countries’ ability to grow and innovate, according to The Global Competitiveness Report 2016-2017. The report is an annual assessment of the factors driving productivity and prosperity in 138 countries. The degree to which economies are open to international trade in goods and services is directly linked to both economic growth and a nation’s innovative potential. The trend, which is based on perception data from Global Competitiveness Index (GCI)’s Executive Opinion Survey, is gradual and attributed mainly to a rise in non-tariff barriers although three other factors are also taken into account; burdensome customs procedures; rules affecting FDI and foreign ownership. It is most keenly felt in the high and upper middle income economies.

“Declining openness in the global economy is harming competitiveness and making it harder for leaders to drive sustainable, inclusive growth,” said Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum.

The report also sheds light on why quantitative easing and other monetary policy measures have been insufficient in reigniting long-term growth for the world’s advanced economies. The report finds that interventions by economies with comparatively low GCI scores failed to generate the same effect as those performed in economies with high scores, suggesting that strong underlying competitiveness is a key requirement for successful monetary stimulus.

The report offers insight into how priorities may be shifting for nations in earlier stages of development. While basic drivers of competitiveness such as infrastructure, health, education and well-functioning markets will always be important, data in the GCI suggests that a nation’s performance in terms of technological readiness, business sophistication and innovation is now as important in driving competitiveness and growth. The Global Competitiveness Report’s competitiveness ranking is based on the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI), which was introduced by the World Economic Forum in 2005. Defining competitiveness as the set of institutions, policies and factors that determine the level of productivity of a country, GCI scores are calculated by drawing together country-level data covering 12 categories – the pillars of competitiveness – that collectively make up a comprehensive picture of a country’s competitiveness. The 12 pillars are: institutions, infrastructure, macroeconomic environment, health and primary education, higher education and training, goods market efficiency, labour market efficiency, financial market development, technological readiness, market size, business sophistication, and innovation. 

 Key Findings:

• The Global Competitiveness Report 2016-2017 finds declining openness is threatening growth and prosperity.
• Monetary stimulus measures such as quantitative easing are not enough to sustain growth and must be accompanied by competitiveness reforms.
• For emerging economies, updated business practices and investment in innovation are now as important as infrastructure, skills and efficient markets.
• Switzerland, Singapore and the United States remain the world’s most competitive economies; India is the highest rising economy, climbing 16 places
• Access the full report, infographics, videos and more visit: weforum.org

Mishal Partners with NUML on Creating New Media Vocabulary on Eliminating Hidden Hunger

Mishal Partners with NUML on Creating New
Vocabulary on Eliminating Hidden Hunger.

Islamabad, PK – 7 September, 2016 - Mishal Pakistan, the Country Partner Institute of the Global Competitiveness and Benchmarking Network of the World Economic Forum and the National University of Modern Languages (NUML) announced partnership to create new media vocabulary to bring Hidden Hunger into public debate.

An estimated 2 billion people — over 30 percent of the world’s population suffer from deficiencies in essential vitamins and minerals. “Hidden hunger” is how health experts often refer to micronutrient deficiencies because most people affected do not show the visible physical symptoms and hence may not be aware of their condition.

Pakistan has an alarmingly high level of malnutrition; 24 percent of the population in Pakistan is undernourished. The most recent estimates by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) state that 37.5 million people in Pakistan are not receiving proper nourishment. The issue is complex and widespread, with deficiencies ranging from protein to iodine, along with other health problems due to insufficient intake of these essential nutrients.

Prof. Karamat Ali, Director ORIC NUML said, “the consequences of hidden hunger can be devastating for the future human security of the country, leading to mental impairment, poor health, low productivity and in severe cases, death. This is an important initiative, which requires all stakeholders to work together for a more secure and prosperous nation.

“Even mild to moderate deficiencies can affect a person’s well-being and development. Hidden hunger disproportionately affects infants, young children and women, preventing them from achieving their full potential in life. Unfortunately, there is not enough data available on how media is taking up this issue in Pakistan. This initiative will create new knowledge and data-sets for future media research and interventions in Pakistan, said Amir Jahangir, Chief Executive Officer of Mishal Pakistan.

The joint research and media development initiatives will build the capacity of thousands of journalists and media professionals across Pakistan in the coming years. Under the Creating Shared Values initiatives, Mishal is now establishing a new partnership with various stakeholders to create and strengthen Pakistan’s national dialogue on Hidden Hunger. Mishal is working closely with the leading research and academic institutions to develop interventions to improve the human capital and industry standards through knowledge-based initiatives on hidden hunger, while providing policy guidelines to the public sector leadership.

Mishal has also earlier announced that to mainstream the concept of micronutrient deficiencies, the “AGAHI Awards 2016 will have special category on Eliminating Hidden Hunger.

This initiative is part of a memorandum of understanding signed between NUML through its Office for Research, Innovation and Commercialization and Mishal Pakistan earlier in March 2016. Part of the initiative is to build stakeholders capacity to understand and create fact-based and data-supported debate in to media discourse.

The UN Sustainable Development Goals aim to end all forms of hunger and malnutrition by 2030, making sure all people – especially children and the more vulnerable – have access to sufficient and nutritious food all year round. This involves promoting sustainable agricultural practices: improving the livelihoods and capacities of small scale famers, allowing equal access to land, technology and markets. It also requires international cooperation to ensure investment in infrastructure and technology to improve agricultural productivity. Zero Hunger is one of 17 Global Goals that make up the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Established in 2003, Mishal has been engaged with some of the most dynamic organizations, including media enterprises and global development agencies helping them develop their communication strategies and solutions for better understanding and creating synergies with their concerned stakeholders. Mishal is the country partner institute of the Center for Global Competitiveness and Benchmarking Network of the World Economic Forum. Mishal’s research and capacity building initiatives have assisted and helped successive governments to improve Pakistan’s global ranking on competitiveness, gender gap, trade and information technology indices.

The National University of Modern Languages was established as an institute in 1970 to help people communicate and understand each other in different oriental and occidental languages, to assimilate different cultures and to act as springboard for emerging disciplines. Initially, the institute provided language training facilities to personnel of armed forces and other government services of Pakistan. It was upgraded to University on May 29, 2000. In achieving this benchmark of a fully autonomous University, it has crossed many barriers and achieved a status of a seat of learning contributing new knowledge in local and global perspective and now teaches 27 oriental and occidental languages in addition to a number of emerging disciplines. Now, the University has a vibrant and well-grounded research program, offering MS/MPhil and PhD research degrees in various disciplines.

The Office for Research, Innovation and Commercialisation (ORIC) at NUML has been established to initiate, embed, support and integrate the process of research, innovation and commercialization in every department of the university. ORIC aims to protect and promote the interests of NUML and is working on long-term, sustainable planning and progress of all of its units in integration with the departments of the university.

Mishal Partners with NUML on Creating New Media Vocabulary on Eliminating Hidden Hunger

Mishal Partners with NUML on Creating New
Vocabulary on Eliminating Hidden Hunger.

Islamabad, PK – 7 September, 2016 - Mishal Pakistan, the Country Partner Institute of the Global Competitiveness and Benchmarking Network of the World Economic Forum and the National University of Modern Languages (NUML) announced partnership to create new media vocabulary to bring Hidden Hunger into public debate.

An estimated 2 billion people — over 30 percent of the world’s population suffer from deficiencies in essential vitamins and minerals. “Hidden hunger” is how health experts often refer to micronutrient deficiencies because most people affected do not show the visible physical symptoms and hence may not be aware of their condition.

Pakistan has an alarmingly high level of malnutrition; 24 percent of the population in Pakistan is undernourished. The most recent estimates by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) state that 37.5 million people in Pakistan are not receiving proper nourishment. The issue is complex and widespread, with deficiencies ranging from protein to iodine, along with other health problems due to insufficient intake of these essential nutrients.

Prof. Karamat Ali, Director ORIC NUML said, “the consequences of hidden hunger can be devastating for the future human security of the country, leading to mental impairment, poor health, low productivity and in severe cases, death. This is an important initiative, which requires all stakeholders to work together for a more secure and prosperous nation.

“Even mild to moderate deficiencies can affect a person’s well-being and development. Hidden hunger disproportionately affects infants, young children and women, preventing them from achieving their full potential in life. Unfortunately, there is not enough data available on how media is taking up this issue in Pakistan. This initiative will create new knowledge and data-sets for future media research and interventions in Pakistan, said Amir Jahangir, Chief Executive Officer of Mishal Pakistan.

The joint research and media development initiatives will build the capacity of thousands of journalists and media professionals across Pakistan in the coming years. Under the Creating Shared Values initiatives, Mishal is now establishing a new partnership with various stakeholders to create and strengthen Pakistan’s national dialogue on Hidden Hunger. Mishal is working closely with the leading research and academic institutions to develop interventions to improve the human capital and industry standards through knowledge-based initiatives on hidden hunger, while providing policy guidelines to the public sector leadership.

Mishal has also earlier announced that to mainstream the concept of micronutrient deficiencies, the “AGAHI Awards 2016 will have special category on Eliminating Hidden Hunger.

This initiative is part of a memorandum of understanding signed between NUML through its Office for Research, Innovation and Commercialization and Mishal Pakistan earlier in March 2016. Part of the initiative is to build stakeholders capacity to understand and create fact-based and data-supported debate in to media discourse.

The UN Sustainable Development Goals aim to end all forms of hunger and malnutrition by 2030, making sure all people – especially children and the more vulnerable – have access to sufficient and nutritious food all year round. This involves promoting sustainable agricultural practices: improving the livelihoods and capacities of small scale famers, allowing equal access to land, technology and markets. It also requires international cooperation to ensure investment in infrastructure and technology to improve agricultural productivity. Zero Hunger is one of 17 Global Goals that make up the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Established in 2003, Mishal has been engaged with some of the most dynamic organizations, including media enterprises and global development agencies helping them develop their communication strategies and solutions for better understanding and creating synergies with their concerned stakeholders. Mishal is the country partner institute of the Center for Global Competitiveness and Benchmarking Network of the World Economic Forum. Mishal’s research and capacity building initiatives have assisted and helped successive governments to improve Pakistan’s global ranking on competitiveness, gender gap, trade and information technology indices.

The National University of Modern Languages was established as an institute in 1970 to help people communicate and understand each other in different oriental and occidental languages, to assimilate different cultures and to act as springboard for emerging disciplines. Initially, the institute provided language training facilities to personnel of armed forces and other government services of Pakistan. It was upgraded to University on May 29, 2000. In achieving this benchmark of a fully autonomous University, it has crossed many barriers and achieved a status of a seat of learning contributing new knowledge in local and global perspective and now teaches 27 oriental and occidental languages in addition to a number of emerging disciplines. Now, the University has a vibrant and well-grounded research program, offering MS/MPhil and PhD research degrees in various disciplines.

The Office for Research, Innovation and Commercialisation (ORIC) at NUML has been established to initiate, embed, support and integrate the process of research, innovation and commercialization in every department of the university. ORIC aims to protect and promote the interests of NUML and is working on long-term, sustainable planning and progress of all of its units in integration with the departments of the university.

The World Economic Forum in partnership with Mishal Pakistan is conducting the nationwide Executive Opinion Survey in Pakistan.

The World Economic Forum in partnership with Mishal Pakistan is conducting the nationwide Executive Opinion Survey in Pakistan. This process has started from early February and will be completed by the mid of May 2016.

The Executive Opinion Survey, “The Voice of the Business Community”, is a major component of The Global Competitiveness Report and provides the key ingredient that turns the Report into a representative annual measure of a nation’s economic environment and its ability to achieve sustained growth.

The survey gathers valuable information on a broad range of variables for which hard data sources are scarce or non-existent. This is the longest-running and most extensive survey of business conditions worldwide, capturing issues that are highly relevant to national competitiveness. These include the state of an economy’s institutions, business environment, macroeconomic environment, technological advancement, human resources, health, education and infrastructure.

Amir Jahangir, Chief Executive Officer, Mishal Pakistan notes that it is vitally important for each Survey respondent to complete the Survey assessing the country in which the executive is located and based on an international comparison. Jahangir said, Pakistan showcased improvements of three ranks by attaining the global rank of 126 in 2015 as compared to 129 in 2014 among 140 countries. It showed improvements on more than 70 indicators, as compared to 40, where it lost its global rankings.

The Executive Opinion Survey results measure the situation in the country in international comparison. Top business executives contributing to the economy of Pakistan will be surveyed to capture their opinion on the business environment in which they operate.

The Global Competitiveness Report has been the World Economic Forum’s flagship publication since 1979 and is widely recognized as the world’s leading cross-country comparison of factors affecting economic competitiveness and growth.

A sample of company executives in Pakistan will be asked to complete this important and confidential survey. The Global Competitiveness Report 2016-2017will be published in September 2016.

Mishal Pakistan is the partner institute of the Global Competitiveness and Benchmarking Networks, World Economic Forum. Mishal assists the forum in creating the soft-data on Pakistan, identifying Pakistan’s competitiveness challenges. As a partner institute Mishal has been working closely with the World Economic Forum on measuring Pakistan’s performance on multiple international indices and reports i.e. Global Competitiveness Index, Global Gender Gap Index, Global Enabling Trade Index, Global Information Technology Report – Network Readiness Index, Financial Development Index and the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index.

Pakistan Academy of Sciences Emphasizes on Biosafety and Biosecurity in Life Sciences Research

Pakistan Academy of Sciences Emphasizes on Biosafety and Biosecurity in Life Sciences Research.

Dual Use Education and Biosecurity related issues addressed in PAS during “Regional Workshop on Biosafety and Biosecurity in Life Sciences Research”

Due to the fast pace of research in life sciences there is a need to develop skills of scientists and researchers to combat biological threats within the region by providing training on biosecurity, biosafety, pathogen surveillance, and infectious disease surveillance and disaster response. With a view of the above the Pakistan Academy of Sciences (PAS)  facilitated the Commission on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development in the South (COMSATS) and the Islamic Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), in organizing a three days Regional Workshop on Biosafety and Biosecurity in Life Sciences Research on April 26 - 28 2016 in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Speakers in their detailed presentations highlighted the risks associated with transboundary pathogens and also suggested viable solutions. Chief Organizer of the workshop, Dr. Zabta K. Shinwari, Secretary General, informed that development of genetic engineering and bioscience technologies have raised a risk of bioterrorism and toxic pathogens that released from our laboratories and industries. 

Dr. Khalid Banuri, Director General (ACDA), raised the point in his speech that the issue of dual-use science is not new. The best known example may be nuclear science, which can be used to produce energy (a peaceful purpose) or nuclear bombs. He also mentioned that Likely threat to Pakistan can emerge from the use of biological weapons by Non-State Actors and by the accidental release of any Bio agents. He is of the view that Pakistan has always encouraged strengthening of national/ international institutional efforts to counter potential misuse of bio technology.  In support of his point, Dr. Sana Zahoor, Assistant Professor, VU added that research with highly pathogenic microorganisms, like H5N1 influenza, anthrax among others, could derive into a serious biological threat to a population or even terrorism. Dr. Nabil Qassem Hailat, Professor, JUST suggested that a regional laboratory could be used to safely and accurately diagnose transboundary diseases as an optimal solution for monitoring transboundary animal diseases in the region. Students of Quaid e Azam University contributed in the workshop by sharing their research findings through posters.