Chairman Surgical Instrument Manufacturers Association of Pakistan (SIMAP), Jehangir Bajwa has said that any attempt to hand over the newly built building of training institute to Medical College would be foiled. The conspiracies to hand over the building to medical college means to ruin the hundred years old surgical industry, he said.
He said that the export of surgical industry is US 300 million dollars despite serious energy crisis and deteriorated law and order situation and we are making strenuous efforts for enhancing the export volume further. Chairman SIMAP seeks immediate intervention of Punjab Chief Minister and demanded the probe into the affair for protecting the surgical industry from hidden hands.
In an interview with Business Recorder here on Thursday after the visit of Malaysia he said the basic concept of establishment of institute is to produce trained and skilled workforce for catering needs of the surgical industry The SIMAP Chairman said the Punjab government has taken the step to address the problems being confronted by the surgical instruments manufacturers and modernisation surgical industry of Sialkot. Currently the business community engaged with surgical instruments is facing acute shortage of trained and skilled workforce and the sole aim of setting up training institute is to produce trained labour for the surgical industry.
About the visit of Malaysia he said there are wide opportunities of establishing joint venture between Pakistan and Malaysia in the field of surgical instrument industry and termed the visit a great success. The Chairman SIMAP disclosed that members of visiting delegation also took part in a three-day exhibition of Pakistani surgical instruments which was arranged by the Association of Private Hospitals (Malaysia).
During discussions with Malaysian businessmen it was decided that collective efforts should be made for boosting trade ties between the two friendly countries, he added. Bajwa said that Malaysian businessmen will attend Expo-Pakistan in October this year and later they will visit Sialkot.
Bajwa said the surgical industry represents manufacturers and exporters of surgical instruments, dental instruments, veterinary, pedicure and manicure items, tailor scissors, barber scissors and beauty saloon instruments. There are about 1200 small and medium surgical units functioning in and close to Sialkot with labour force of 60,000 workers. The Pakistani surgical instruments are most economical in the world coupled with unconditional guarantee of finest quality and the surgical manufacturers and exporters were making strenuous efforts for improving the marketing and exploring new venues especially non-traditional markets aimed at enhancing surgical instruments exports to double the export.
Jehangir Bajwa further stated that over 95 percent surgical instrument producers in Pakistan have international certification and adopted good manufacturing practices while manufacturing arrangements are supervised by highly skilled craftsmen and professionals resultantly several internationally reputed brands had joint ventures in Pakistan.
The SIMAP is playing a pivotal role in capacity building and modernization of surgical industry with the help of Engineering Development Board (EDB) and Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR) while SIMAP has upgraded manufacturing standards of industry and also focusing on bringing new technologies, he revealed.