Federal Science and Technology Minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain has emphasized that Pakistan needed to increase its exports by adopting modern technologies in business for obtaining desired results and cope with the fast changing global trends. Through traditional ways of doing business attaining of desired results would not be possible he said.
The Federal Minister stated this while talking to a delegation of Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) in Islamabad. According to SCCI media release Pakistan should touch areas in business like Bio Technology, Artificial intelligence, Block chain Technology, Future Technologies he said. The Minister disclosed that government would soon setup Bio Technology in Special Economic Zone (SEZ) at Jehlum and it would be accomplished with three years.
The Federal minister revealed that Pakistan is importing Chemicals amounting to US 2.3 billion dollars for industrial use for different purposes. The government he said actively considering announcing a special package for the industry for the production o chemicals. The production of chemicals in Pakistan, technology transfer would vital play role as China is ready to help Pakistan in terms of transfer of technology he disclosed. Federal stressed upon the industrial sector to guide the government in preparing the list of different chemicals imported and used by the industrial sector of the country.
Federal Science and Technology Minister assured the delegation that next meeting would soon be held at PCSIR (Lahore) and all concerned of Pakistan National Accreditation Council (PNAC), Pakistan Standard and Quality Control Authority (PSQA) and all the stakeholders from the industry will attend the meeting.
On this occasion the SCCI President Muhammad Ashraf Malik appreciated moves of the government and said that industrial sector would cooperate with government in increasing the exports and adopting new technologies. He suggested that export industry lacked an internationally acclaimed accredited material testing laboratory for highly value-added sectors like metal, textile garments and leather garments and wear.
In the absence of laboratory, exporters were sending their samples abroad for testing and certified to be accepted worldwide as a result of which it would be added to the cost of doing business he informed the Federal Minister. The SCCI President suggested that government should take drastic steps for setting up state of the art material testing laboratory on top priority basis for the promotion of export of surgical instruments to USA.
Former SCCI President Majid Raza Bhutta also informed the Federal Minister that European Union a major importer of leather products was moving towards tough standards including REACH and Leather Working Group which demanded an increase in the traceability and transparency of the full supply chain of leather products.
Majid suggested that government should form a committee on leather working group by taking all stakeholders on board. He further added that for individual product certification exporters dealing with motorbike garments, safety clothing, firefighting uniforms, gloves of all kinds, shoes had to go through series of tests which would involve heavy investment. Keeping in the view the circumstances the government should subsidize the product wise certifications to facilitate the SME sector he added.