Syed Muhammad Ghaznavi ISLAMABAD, April 01 (INP-WealthPK): The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) and the Pakistan Baitul Maal (PBM) have signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a packaging centre for the clothing products prepared at the PBM’s women empowerment centres (WECs), according to WealthPK. The first WEC was established in Azad Jammu and Kashmir in 1995 for equipping widows and orphans with income generating skills. Since then, 161 WECs have been set up all over Pakistan, providing specialised training in tailoring, interior decoration, cooking, computer literacy, etc. The finishing centre, to be established in Islamabad’s F-9 park, will serve as a facility for giving final touches to the products produced at WECs. As per the plan, commercial space in a central location of Islamabad is to be acquired for selling the products. To multiply the dividends of the initiative, 75% of the profits will be distributed among the students/producers, while the remaining chunk will be utilised for upgradation of the WECs. TIKA, established to assist Turkish-speaking communities in different countries following the collapse of Soviet Union in 1991, has planned 50 projects in Pakistan during the year 2022, according to WealthPK. In the past, TIKA’s projects in Pakistan have focused on key areas, including installation of solar panels, construction of medical facilities and exchange of locust fighting technology. Talking about the initiative, PBM managing director Malik Zaheer Abbas Khokhar remarked, “It is the vision of the government to bring the women in the mainstream so as to ensure their economic wellbeing.” As per the PBM data, WECs have so far produced 190,222 graduates with 19,888 currently enrolled in various streams of specialisation. A prospective trainee has to be a primary school graduate to enroll at a WEC with the exception of candidates in certain parts of the north and AJK. Students are allowed to enroll in a second stream of specialisation after completing training in their current trade. To decrease the opportunity cost of enrolling at a WEC, a daily stipend is disbursed among the trainees in the tailoring programme. However, students enrolled in their second specialisation may not be eligible for a stipend. Additionally, raw materials for training and producing goods are provided free of cost. As per the WEC Policy 2020 document released by the PBM, the annual cost of operating a WEC is Rs4,600,000. A budget of Rs2,700,000 has also been set aside for the centres still not equipped with IT facilities. The PBM plans setting up a WEC in every district of the country.