(live-PR.com) - East Asian economies - Hong Kong and Singapore - occupy the top two positions in the Enabling Trade Index ranking, followed by Sweden and Norway, according to The Global Enabling Trade Report 2008, released by the World Economic Forum. Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Switzerland and New Zealand complete the top 10 list.

Pakistan has been ranked at 84 among the 118 other economies, whereas its neighbors secured slightly better positions; Sri Lank 70 and India 71 as compared to Bangladesh 110 and Nepal 116.

The results bear witness to Hong Kong and Singapore’s openness to international trade and investment as part of their successful economic development strategy. Both countries have put into place customs administrations that are highly efficient in getting goods over borders. They are also endowed with well developed transport and telecommunications infrastructures ensuring rapid transit to final destination. These attributes are further supported by business environments that are conducive to the logistics and transport industry.

Published for the first time and covering 118 economies worldwide, The Global Enabling Trade Report 2008 aims to present a cross-country analysis of the large number of measures facilitating trade. The Enabling Trade Index captures the free flow of goods over borders and to destination.

The Enabling Trade Index, featured in the report, measures the factors, policies and services facilitating the free flow of goods over borders and to destination. The index breaks the enablers into four overall issue areas: (1) market access, (2) border administration, (3) transport and communications infrastructure and (4) the business environment.

Identifying the key areas where Pakistan is lagging behind and has shown weaknesses in some of the crucial areas, Arthur Bayhan, Chief Executive Officer of the Competitiveness Support Fund, said that “Pakistan needs to put immediate attention to facilitate an environment conducive to trade and investment, including a transparent and efficient border administration, well developed transport infrastructure and highly efficient services.

Bayhan further added that Pakistan showed its competitive advantage on the indicators such as non-tariff barriers, time for import, transshipment connectivity index, which is the types of transshipment connections available to shippers from Pakistan on bilateral routes, quality of rail road infrastructure, road congestions, linear shipping connectivity index and ease of hiring and firing labor.

“The index will be particularly useful for policy-makers interested in benefiting from trade. By integrating and benchmarking the full range of factors that affect trade, both at and behind the border, it provides meaningful guidance on what their priorities should be,” said Professor Robert Z. Lawrence, Albert L. Williams Professor of Trade and Investment at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Professor Lawrence is also academic adviser and co-editor of the report.

“Over the past year, the World Economic Forum has engaged key industry and thought leaders to carry out an in-depth analysis and assessment of the obstacles hindering trade in economies around the world. The goal is to construct a platform for multistakeholder dialogue in the interest of fostering international economic development,” said Professor Klaus Schwab, Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum.

The Enabling Trade Index uses a combination of data from publicly available sources, as well as the results of the Executive Opinion Survey, a comprehensive annual survey conducted by the World Economic Forum with its network of Partner Institutes (leading research institutes and business organizations) in the countries included in the report. CSF carried out the Executive Opinion Surveys in Pakistan from January to May 2008. The survey provides unique data on many qualitative institutional and business environment issues and the perception of the private sector on various aspects of the economy.

The report also features a number of contributions from trade experts and practitioners with relevant knowledge and experience in reducing barriers to trade and national trade performance. Also included is an extensive section of data tables, including each indicator used in the Enabling Trade Index’s computation.

The Competitiveness Support Fund (CSF), a joint initiative of the Ministry of Finance, Government of Pakistan and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is the country partner institution in Pakistan.

As a partner institution of the World Economic Forum, CSF works closely with the leading institutions of the world to reposition Pakistan’s economy on a more competitive global footing. CSF supports Pakistan’s goal to have a competitive economy by providing input into policy decisions, working to improve regulatory and administrative frameworks and enhancing public-private partnerships within the country.

CSF also provides 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.

Support for CSF is part of the $1.5 billion in aid that the U.S. Government is providing to Pakistan over five years to improve economic growth, education, health, and governance.

The complete Enabling Trade Report 2008 rankings and the highlights can be downloaded from the CSF web portal at: www.competitiveness.org.pk/getr08