LAHORE: The Punjab Planning and Development Department in collaboration with the World Bank Group on Thursday hosted the launch of new flagship South Asia competitiveness report `South Asia`s turn: policies to boost competitiveness and create the next export powerhouse`.

The report highlighted productivity of firms in Pakistan and the rest of South Asia as the only sustainable way to improve competitiveness of the provincial and national economy.

Speaking on the occasion, P&D Secretary Iftikhar Ali Sahoo said thePunjab government had already embarked upon ease of doing business reform agenda and launched `Punjab jobs and competitiveness programme` that aims at creating favourable conditions for doing businessinitiativesforlocalfirmsleveraging public-private dialogue while ensuring reforms are in line with expectations of key stakeholders from theindustries.

Punjab Industries Secretary Dr Mujtaba Piracha said the challenge was not just restricted to policy change, but to reform the mindset to permeate all the way to human resources.

He stressed that the private sectorshould play a key role and collaborate with public sector companies.

The report also calls for helping firms in Punjab to innovate and improve their managerial capabilities, and use new technology enhancement connectivity with customers and suppliers for boosting competitiveness.

`Firms in Punjab and Pakistan have a significant untapped potential in raising productivity through development of urban ecosystems providing thick markets for skilled labour, large tracts of industrial land, and world class logistics,` said Vincent Palmade, lead economist and one of the report`s co-authors.