Marc Murcia, Head of the Economics Department, Embassy of France in Pakistan, visited All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) Punjab on Wednesday. Chairman APTMA Punjab Shahzad Ali Khan welcomed him at the APTMA Punjab office. Senior Vice Chairman APTMA Punjab, Mian Mahmood Ahsan, S M Imran and other executive committee members were also present on the occasion.
Chairman APTMA Punjab said the APTMA members travel to Europe frequently. He urged the French envoy to ensure easier visa facility for APTMA members to increase bilateral trade between the two countries. Head of International Trade Committee Amir Fayyaz made a detailed presentation on APTMA. He said APTMA was established in 1957 and number of members has reached to 395 today. Sustainable Production Centre, Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Initiative, Cotton Research, Support & Management, Textile Education and Better Cotton Initiative are a few major steps taken APTMA recently in the larger interest of its members, he added.
Further, APTMA is very active on Corporate Social Responsibility under the APTMA Welfare Foundation. According to him, market access constraint is hampering growth of textile in Pakistan. He expressed the hope that the proposed market access under the GSP plus would create many jobs in Pakistan. He said the textile industry is the largest employer in Pakistan but sharp decline in exports to Europe and particular in France is a matter of grave concern for industry.
Highlighting the APTMA-EU joint initiatives, he said image building of Pakistan is a challenge for textile industry before getting a big share in total textile imports of EU. He said the APTMA has planned to hold road shows in different countries of Europe and invite top management of international brands to it. Also, he said, a delegation of EU trade councillors will be visiting APTMA in near future to have clear understanding of textile industry in Pakistan.
The visiting French envoy appreciated the APTMA efforts towards country perception, image building and increase in textile exports to the world. He said textile industry in Pakistan is a very strong sector with huge potential to grow and expressed the hope for enhanced co-operation between France and Pakistan for mutual benefit.
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