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Inside the meeting room where the Expert Hearing
on Economic Freedom Index, Pakistani Edition
was held. |
The Economic Freedom Network (EFN) Asia has officially
launched EFN Pakistan to promote economic freedom
and to provide a platform for political dialogues,
political education and academic exchanges in this
South Asian country.
Based in Islamabad, the EFN Pakistan will work
closely with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF)
“to promote personal choice, voluntary exchange
coordinated by markets, freedom to enter and compete
in markets, and protection of persons and their
property from aggression by others, including government,”
said Mr. Peter-Andreas Bochmann, head of the FNF
Pakistan office in Islamabad.
As the host, FNF Pakistan organised a conference
among senior FNF officials, EFN coordinators and
economic experts at the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad
on 1 November 2007. The purpose was to exchange
and brainstorm ideas on working plans and directions
of EFN Pakistan for the coming years.
In countries like Pakistan where political and
civil liberties are relatively limited, economic
freedom is an alien concept. The aim of EFN Pakistan
is to contribute toward a freer Pakistani economy
so that people will enjoy greater freedom to pursue
wealth, raise their standard of living, and realise
their potential.
Guest speakers included: Dr. Khalil Ahmed, director
of the Alternate Solutions Institute; Mr. Ali Tauqeer
Sheikh, director of the Leadership for Environment
and Development; Dr. Shahida Wizarat, director of
the University Karachi’s Allied Economic Research
Centre, and Mr. Manfred Richter, an FNF board member
and former Lord Mayor of Bremerhaven in Germany.
Representing the Bangkok-based FNF regional office
for Southeast and East Asia was Dr. Gorawut Numnak,
a trained economist and new EFN Asia coordinator.
Mr. Manfred Richter was sharing his views on
the EFW Index in the context of Pakistan. |
Part of the work of EFN Pakistan is to complement
the efforts of the Canada-based Fraser Institute in
compiling economic data worldwide for the purpose
of calculating and analysing the level of economic
freedom in various countries. The institute—also
a founding partner of the EFN Network—developed
the Economic Freedom of the World (EFW) Index. It
publishes the annual Economic Freedom of the World
Report.
As experts on the EFW Index, Mr. Richter and Dr.
Ahmed shared their experiences with various editions
of the EFW Index, which they described as a great
warning indicator of a country’s economic
development. The Index helps policy makers identify
areas that need improvement such as size of the
government, legal structure, security of property
rights, access to sound money sources, freedom to
trade internationally, and regulation of credit,
labour and business.
In addition, Dr. Wizarat presented her academic
paper, titled “Space for Free Market Economy
in Pakistan”. She concluded that for Pakistan
to reap full benefits that free markets have to
offer, it must strictly observe the rule of law—an
important element in any liberal democracy that
the country now lacks.
In the last session of the conference, the participants
discussed the current political and economic situations
in Pakistan as well as the merits of free markets
and limited governments. All agreed on the need
to promote economic freedom in the country and discussed
working plans for the newly established EFN Pakistan
to make this happen.
The one-day event concluded with a brief press
conference, which was covered by the local media.
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