Publication: The News International
Date: January 3, 2013
Web Address: http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-3-152053-NPO-and-Mishal-Pakistan-sign-MoUIsrar Khan
Thursday, January 03, 2013
From Print Edition
ISLAMABAD: The National Productivity Organization (NPO) of the Ministry of Industries and Mishal Pakistan signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Wednesday, official sources report. The MoU aims to develop initiatives to improve Pakistan’s ranking on the Global Competitiveness Index of the World Economic Forum (WEF). According to official data, at present, the country ranks below some of the least developed countries of Asia and Africa.
NPO will assist Mishal in conducting the WEF’s annual executive opinion survey to measure Pakistan’s ranking on various indicators of competitiveness. Both the organisations will also jointly execute activities to develop initiatives for measuring competitiveness and improving Pakistan’s ranking, sources said.
CEO NPO, Khawaja Muhammad Yousuf, said in his address: “Pakistan ranks 124 of a total of 144 countries and there is need of synergising country’s resources both technically and physically to uplift our industry with a special focus towards competitiveness and productivity.”
He further said, “NPO will assist Mishal Pakistan in developing the annual State of Competitiveness Report.”
Mishal Pakistan, a country partner institute of the Center for Global Competitiveness and Performance at the WEF and is working closely with key institutions in Pakistan on identifying the gaps and opportunities for improving competitiveness for long-term economic growth.
CEO of Mishal and Young Global Leader of the WEF, Amir Jahangir, said “Pakistan is facing tough competition, both regionally and globally, as nations around the world are improving their productivity and competitiveness systematically. Pakistan also needs to focus its initiatives to improve its own competitiveness.”
Mishal and NPO will also work together to develop the institutional capacity of various government departments to understand the challenges faced by Pakistan on the competitiveness front. For this, Mishal will provide technical assistance to NPO in establish a separate department within NPO that will specialise in addressing issues of competitiveness, officials say.
Mishal will be working with the NPO management team to reach out to other stakeholders to mobilise resources including knowledge partnerships, donor assistance and institutional collaborations.
Established in 1961, NPO is the partner of the Asian Productivity Organization (APO) and World Confederation of Productivity Science (WCPS) and World Network of Productivity Organizations (WNPO).
NPO is striving hard to reach out to the economic sectors with the help of its regional offices and nationwide initiatives. These include training, consulting, productivity audits and mass awareness and outreach programmes, among others, on improving productivity.
