LAHORE Citi Pakistan and Citi Philippines have been recognised and awarded for the 'Best Community Programme in the 'Gold Category at the Global CSR Summit 2011, for their pioneering work in microfinance and vocational training. This award is one of five categories and recognises the company that has successfully implemented a community project that has resulted in poverty alienation, better education, business growth or community engagement. This years theme at the Asian conference in Cebu City, Philippines was 'Beyond Sustainability and the awards aimed at 'finding Asias most sustainable company. Citi was competing against 60 other companies from across the world, including HSBC, GE, P&G and LOreal amongst others for this award. 'As Citi completes 50 years in Pakistan and 200 years globally, we celebrate our commitment to the community space in Pakistan. This award comes as a solid recognition of our consistent CSR initiatives, particularly on the microfinance and income-generation front, said Arif Usmani, Citi Country Officer for Pakistan. 'We are optimistic that many of these projects will transform into sustainable initiatives, which can serve as potential public-private partnership model pilots, with measurable, long-term impact on poverty alleviation in Pakistan. 'At Citi, our global footprint means that we have an opportunity to make a positive impact in the more than 100 countries in which we operate, said Pamela Flaherty, Citis Director of Corporate Citizenship and President & CEO of the Citi Foundation. 'We have a commitment to the concept of Responsible Finance it is embedded throughout the company and it drives the strategy of putting the strength of our business, products and people to work to help improve communities and the environment around the world. In both Pakistan and the Philippines, we have built lasting relationships with NGOs and local partners, and together we are creating real impact by expanding economic empowerment and financial inclusion to traditionally underserved communities. Citi Pakistan and Citi Philippines are committed to efforts to advance the microfinance industry. This is evidenced through their participation in the Citi Micro-entrepreneurship Awards (CMA), supported by the Citi Foundation.