The establishment of proposed Trade Development Authority (TDA), to replace the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), is likely to be announced in the first week of June, 2006.
Source told Business Recorder on Sunday that formal approval for the establishment of TDA would be given in a meeting on Monday in Islamabad.
"The establishment of TDA is on the cards, and this would be announced very soon", an official said here.
The officials in favour of establishment of TDA, to replace EPB, said that the objectives and benefits to be achieved by TDA includes ensuring timely availability of a product or service desired by the world in most competitive environments, produced and delivered in an environment and manner acceptable under the evolving new world trading order and to be able to "market it" successfully around the world.
It would also benefit from higher professional level of expertise, pro and reactive, responding promptly and efficiently to stakeholders prime needs, to use world class management and marketing tools and techniques and IT for organisational maximum efficiency and productivity.
They said that it would be a truly result-oriented and a state-of-the-art model-based professional organisation, and overall objective is to at least double exports every five years.
THE OPERATIONAL OBJECTIVES OF ESTABLISHING TDA ARE: export development vision; strategy, plans and initiatives for products and services and result-oriented execution; support of export effort at national level and forging effective liaison with stakeholders to learn from experience and avoid duplication of effort; export policy issues emanating from the provinces which have export implications; export promotion and development; research and related studies within and outside Pakistan with respect to exports; planning, organisation, and execution of exhibitions, delegations to and from Pakistan; local, international and inter-provincial export promotional conferences, workshops, seminars etc; foreign trade promotion, advertising through all means and media as required; overseas trade offices, within and outside Pakistan missions, including display centers, warehousing, etc; liaison with trade bodies abroad including overseas Pakistani foundation; supply chain development and co-ordination with federal and provincial governments and related organisations through Cabinet Export Committee and export facilitation.
With regard to export development and promotion, the TDA would be beneficial in implementation of export development plans; overseas and local marketing promotions and related activities, facilities and infrastructure such as warehouses, display centres etc; buyer seller match making; exporters and buyers facilitation; management of expo centres in Pakistan or abroad; promotion of national and product branding and ensuring institutional linkages with stakeholders local and abroad.
It is said that TDA would also be beneficial in export facilitation, training and development of SMEs, exporters and all other stakeholders and also helpful to strengthen the national export culture, Pakistan business image management, SME and export training and development, exporters skill development, close interaction with private sector and ensuring institutional linkages with stakeholders local and abroad.
The business community of the country is seeing a very positive change for increasing country''s export after establishment of the TDA. The EPB was only to focus to promote the country''s exports, while the TDA would focus on trade including exports, industries and their requirements.
Federal Commerce Minister would be the chairman of this new establishment and it would be run by a chief executive officer. It would have one chief operating officer who would be a grade 21 officer from the government. Twenty directors would be appointed out of them 70 percent would be taken from private sector.
It is learnt that about 200 highly qualified and experienced professionals would be appointed from private sector to run this new organisation in a very moderate manner and according to the demands of the global market.
All economic and commercial counsellors in various Pakistani missions world-wide would be directly under the TDA, which would be given tasks to increase the country''s exports.
EPB Chairman Tariq Ikram played a very active role for establishing the TDA. He always gave his firm support to establish such an organisation, which could work more independently. He advocated that until and unless working independently and without inducting more professionals in the organisation, the country''s exports would not increase.
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