Learning to grow economy

Business, Normal
Source:

The National, Wednesday August 08th, 2012

By GYNNIE KERO
INTERNATIONAL Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, is training government representatives and stakeholders on how to improve the country’s economic environment.
To be held at the Crowne Plaza hotel from Aug 7-8, the two- day public- private dialogue workshop for the National Working Group (NWG) on Improving Business and Investment Climate is chaired by Chief secretary Manasupe Zurenuoc.
IFC is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector.
It helps developing countries achieve sustainable growth by financing investment, mobilising capital in international financial markets and providing advisory services to businesses and governments.
Dialogue expert Lili Sisombat said the workshop was aimed at helping PNG attract more investment and create more jobs.
“During the workshop, government and business members will learn how to establish an effective dialogue and prioritise regulatory reforms, as well as advocacy and communication skills,” she said.
“They will know how to identify and propose regulatory reforms that would improve the country’s business environment.”
Zurenuoc said with IFC’s help, they were working to form a cohesive body to achieve reforms that would help the private sector flourish and increase employment and incomes.
He said this workshop would enhance their skills and help them focus their efforts on the most-pressing issues for business.
The NWG is starting to make real progress in dealing with the issues that affect business in PNG.
For a start, the working group has already made progress on improving the efficiency of the country’s ports.
As a result of its efforts, the government has allocated dedicated office space to customs officers at PNG Ports, so that they can operate around-the-clock to speed up customs clearances, removing a bottleneck that slows down the import and export of goods.
IFC’s resident representative Carolyn Blacklock said by lending their global expertise to the group, they were helping to further strengthen the dialogue between government and business.