Planned carpet show: PCMEA says trying to woo foreign investors

LAHORE: The Pakistan Carpet Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PCMEA) is coordinating and contacting actively the international investors and buyers of handmade carpets to participate in the International Handmade Carpet Exhibition scheduled to be held here at Expo Centre in October this year.

PCMEA Senior Vice Chairman Usman Ashraf stated this while chairing a meeting to review arrangements for the exhibition here at Association’s office on Sunday. Carpet Training Institute (CTI) Chairman Ejazur Rehman, PCMEA senior central leaders Abdul Rauf Malik, Parvez Hanif, Riaz Ahmed, Saeed Khan, Muhammad Akbar Malik, Major Retired Akhtar Nazir, Shahid Hassan and Umair Usman were also present.

Usman Ashraf hoped that Trade Development Authority Pakistan (TDAP) and other relevant departments would cooperate and extend their full support in holding and making the exhibition a success. He appreciated the agreement with International Monetary Fund (IMF) and termed it a major breakthrough that would help stabilise the country’s economy.

The participants of the meeting were briefed about the preparations and arrangements being made for the international carpet exhibition.

PCMEA Vice Chairman urged the government to devise a policy for approaching the international markets, especially the countries which were ignored earlier.

He also stressed the need for compiling a contact directory by Pakistani missions abroad, adding that these missions to help establish contact the carpet traders and other potential investors of this sector in their respective countries. He added that all the missions abroad should invite the carpet investors and importers at the missions and brief them about the handmade Pakistani carpet and their utilities.

He said that all Pakistanis manufacturers and exporters should also be educated about the preparations of the quality of products for a positive and attractive result in international market. Usman Ashraf mentioned that correspondence with foreign buyers had been started in advance and the association was also considering the proposal of sending delegations to countries where Pakistani products were in high demand.

He sought support of departments concerned to Pakistani carpet manufacturers and delegations so that they could be able to prepare export quality products. He was optimistic that forthcoming international exhibition would prove to be a milestone for Pakistani manufacturers and exporters to have more access in international markets.

He said that contacts were on with international participants of the exhibition and urged the TDAP and other departments to help PCMEA in extending the invitations and work for a success exhibition. “Our goal is to convince the maximum number of foreign buyers to participate in the exhibition.

We request the government to cooperate with us in this regard so that the foreign buyers can be offered the best hospitality package,” he said. He was of the view that international exhibitions in Pakistan were key to build country’s soft image among the comity of nations.