The corporate leaders of South Asian region have said that Pakistan and India should remove non-tariff barriers to increase bilateral trade which would enable their economies to flourish.
Top marketing leaders and chief operating officers of several multinational companies from Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka gathered at a local hotel for a two-day conference titled South Asia Strategic Leadership Summit. Addressing the broader theme of “Collaborating for Change”, the event was organised by Nutshell Forum along with India and Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
Shaukat Tarin, adviser to the chairman Silk Bank Limited and former federal minister for finance and economic affairs, said Pakistan is experiencing the first successful transition – in recent history – from one democratic government to another. However, he said, Pakistan has failed to exploit its growth potential in the last two decades. Pakistan has lost its ranking in the fields of health and education systems worldwide, he added.
Tarin said only five percent students in the country have access to higher education, while two million children do not go to schools. “Pakistan is spending 1.8 percent of its GDP on education, while India spends 4.1 percent and Bangladesh spends 2.4 percent of its GDP on education,” he said. According to Tarin, Pakistan imparts technical education to just 150,000 students per annum whereas the requirement is for many more.
Tarin said that in order to bring change, civil society, industry and the government should collaborate with each other.
Dr Atta-ur-Rahman, former federal minister for science and technology, highlighted innovations in the field of science and technology and claimed that the number of PhD holders in Pakistan has increased in the last eight years.
Despite the technological advancement growth of business in the world is linked with the growth of people (employees) as qualitative and brand manpower always leads to any organization towards success.
“As a strategic business partner we always strive to attract, retain and develop talent, champion change and manage performance to achieve our goals. Besides our quest is to facilitate a culture that enables the realisation of human potential & leadership,” said P. Dwarakanath, Director Group Human Capital, Max India Limited while addressing a two-day “South Asia Strategic Leadership Summit” held here at a local hotel on Tuesday. He was delivering a speech on ‘building leadership, culture and branding’.
