The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) have decided to expand their partnership in the clothing manufacturing industry.

APTMA Chairman Hamid Zaman, North Zone Vice Chairman Asad Shafi, Muhammad Ali Chaudhry, Ismail Fareed Sheikh, Shams Elahi, Ahsan Shahid, Abdullah Amer, S.M. Nabeel, and Secretary General Raza Baqir were also present at the interactive session between the BGMEA Standing Committee on Utilization Declaration Automation and the APTMA North Zone. The conference heard from APTMA Chairman Hamid Zaman and Vice Chairman Asad Shafi about the organization's ambition to increase exports by establishing 1,000 stitching facilities in Pakistan.

Asad Shafi stated that the Patron-in-Chief of the APTMA Gohar Ejaz had envisioned using excess yarn and fabric valued at roughly $3 billion to manufacture apparel and other textile items with value added by setting up 1000 apparel units, each costing $7 million and providing employment for 700 employees. He proceeded by saying that the new stitching units will potentially result in an additional $210 billion in exports and approximately a million jobs overall, eliminating the need to beg for more foreign currency throughout the globe.

Hamid Zaman, the chairman of the APTMA, suggested that business delegations from the two countries, particularly those made up of young entrepreneurs, exchange visits in order to share knowledge about the most recent manufacturing innovations being used in each country.

Speaking on the occasion, Yasir Obaid, a BGMEA member, briefly introduced the development history of the textile industry in Bangladesh, outlining the government's participation and Bangladeshi business people's efforts to establish the industry in accordance with current trends and global best practises. He said that Bangladeshi garment producers have incorporated technology into their processes in addition to product diversification to boost productivity and expand their range of offerings.

According to him, the Bangladeshi government has taken the initiative to assist garment manufacturers and exporters by offering services like bonded warehouses, duty-free imports of raw materials, and the establishment of special Industrial Police Units to guarantee business continuity in complete peace and tranquillity.

Yasir Obaid said that regardless of the political ideology they hold, all of Bangladesh's governments have always prioritised industry from the country's founding since no one has ever put a roadblock in the way of it continuing to flourish. He continued by saying that government authorities have always had a positive attitude toward Bangladesh's clothing industry. Additionally, there are several training programmes being run in both the public and the private sectors in Bangladesh, where garment workers are as prevalent as fast bowlers in Pakistan.

According to Yasir Obaid, the Bangladeshi government has also been very aggressive in providing financial assistance to its garment exporters and manufacturers through a variety of programmes including the Technology Transfer Fund. In the broader interest of the value-added garment sectors of the two countries, the two parties concurred to have further interactive sessions in the future.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk