Make Pakistan Aid Development Oriented: Experts (The Economic Times)
President Nancy Birdsall was quoted in The Economic Times in an article about the Center's new report on Pakistan.
From the Article
WASHINGTON: Noting that America's efforts are heavily focused on security in nuclear-armed Pakistan, a group of eminent US experts have called for a substantial revamp of the country's approach towards Islamabad to make aid development oriented.
"The United States is way off course in Pakistan. It's heavily focused on security while neglecting low-cost, low-risk investments in jobs, growth, and the long haul of democracy building," said Nancy Birdsall, president of the Washington-based Centre for Global Development, which released a report on Pakistan prepared by eminent US and Pakistani development experts.
The report says that the administration's integrated 'Af-Pak' approach - lumping Pakistan together with Afghanistan in policy deliberations and bureaucratic lines of authority - has "muddled" the Pakistan development mission.
Similarly, "the integration of development, diplomacy, and defence has... left the programme without a clear, focused mandate."
The 42-page report urges a revamp of the US strategy toward the country, starting with greater reliance on trade--offering duty-free, quota-free access for all Pakistan exports to the US market for at least five years--and increased incentives for investment, such as new forms of risk insurance and credit programs for Pakistan's small and medium enterprises.
