By Arsalan Ali

ISLAMABAD, July 15, (INP-WealthPK): Innovation is the primary driver of development and investment is vital for innovation, reports WealthPK.

Dr. Ghulam Ghouse, an assistant professor at the University of Lahore, told WealthPK that investment and innovation were interlinked. He added that investment was vital for innovation and sustainable economic growth.

He said that innovation was the main driving force behind the development of any country. He added that China is leading the world because it stresses innovation in the fields of agriculture, industry, pharmaceutical products, technology, services sector and e-commerce.

Data shows that China’s investment in research and development from the year 2012 to 2021 has increased by 170 percent and reached 2.79 trillion yuan, which is 2.44 percent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Dr. Ghulam Ghouse said that without innovation, capital investment would be ineffective in increasing future production. He added that the firms, which did not bring innovation in their products, were kicked out by their competitors from the market.

“Foreign investment is the most important factor contributing to the economic development of the country. Even highly developed countries like the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France and Japan are trying to attract foreign investment,” he said. He added that those countries were providing a favourable environment to investors for attracting foreign investment.

Dr. Ghulam Ghouse said that Pakistan spent the least on research and development, which made its products uncompetitive in the international market. He added that innovation would help the labour to increase productivity and strengthen the economy of the country.

Dr. Abedullah, an environmental expert at the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, said that innovation in the transport and energy sectors would reduce the emission of greenhouse gases. “It is possible when the government provides a friendly environment to foreign and local investors,” he added.

He said that the foreign exchange reserves of the central bank of the country were depleting owing to the purchase of oil in foreign currency. “It has a negative impact on the balance of payments owing to hefty import bills,” he added.

Dr. Abedullah told WealthPK that one of the major reasons for the lack of innovation was the migration of skilled labour to other countries and the issue of intellectual property rights.

“We need to support startups to bring innovation in products. It will help to increase the export of goods from the country and strengthen the national economy,” he said.

Pakistan was ranked 99th out of 132 economies in the Global Innovation Index in 2021. Previously, Pakistan’s research was limited to agriculture, biology and computer science as well as medicines. Innovation and research in various fields ensure long-term economic growth of countries and help them to achieve the high level of productivity.

South Korea and Switzerland spend 4.81 percent and 3.37 percent of their GDP, respectively, on research and development. Pakistan needs to take concrete steps to bring innovation in various fields and attract foreign investment.

The experts said that patent rights should be provided to the innovators and strict action should be taken against those, who copied the products, for encouraging innovation in the country and attracting foreign investment.

They said that government should take steps to stop the brain drain from the country by providing opportunities to skilled and highly educated people to serve their homeland. They said that government should increase budgetary allocations for research and development.

Credit:

Independent News Pakistan-INP