Sino-Pak textile cooperation to focus on readymade garments.

ISLAMABAD -- Pakistani and Chinese experts have agreed to developing a textile cooperation framework under China Pakistan Economic Cooperation by focusing on readymade garments, man-made fiber and textile skill training.

It was expressed in a one-day workshop organized by the Board of Investment (BOI) to deliberate on a diagnostic study on Pakistan's textile sector, conducted by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) of China and China International Engineering Consulting Corporation (CIECC),said a press release issued by BOI here on Wednesday.

The textile diagnostic report provided the Chinese viewpoints on the potentials and barriers of large-scale Textile Mills in Pakistan.

The report was also one of the deliverables of the 9th JCC held in 2019 and is a precursor to a more detailed work on the Textile Sector of Pakistan.

The workshop was attended by Executive Director General (EDG) of BOI, Qasim Raza Khan, Project Director of the Project Management Unit (PMU) BoI, Asim Ayub, Director SEZs BOI, Abdul Samie, Executive Director APTMA,Sattar Shahid, Director Textile Industry Division, Kanwar Usman, Chairman PRAGMEA, Shaikh Mohammad Shafiq, Head of Pak-China Investment Company Ltd,Tariq Masood and representatives from line ministries, private sector and academia.

EDG BOI, Qasim Raza Khan informed the participants that CPEC had now entered into the pragmatic phase of Industrial cooperation, and it was the right time to take Pakistan forward on the path of industrialization.

It has been agreed that the Chinese side will continue to provide intellectual and technical support to accelerate Pakistan's priority sectors especially through the 9 SEZs of Pakistan under CPEC wherein 03 SEZs have been prioritized and are now at an advanced stage of development, he added.

He was confident that through this cooperation, many Chinese companies would reap benefits of Pakistan's competitive advantages.

Project Director of PMU, Asim Ayub gave a brief presentation on the Textile diagnostic report, emphasizing that the trade potential had to be transformed into investment potential.

He specified three main areas of cooperation where Chinese could provide support to Pakistan with the objective of developing a textile cooperation framework. These areas include readymade garments, man-made fiber and textile skill training.

Executive Director APTMA, Sattar Shahid was of the view that for any meaningful investment to be made, there was a need to fix...