Minister of Industries and production, Syed Murtaza Mahmood has said that the female workforce from rural areas will be trained to work with industrial units in order to uplift their socio-economic status and rural development itself.
For this purpose, the minister asked the Pakistan Industrial Technical Assistance Centre (PITAC) to launch an awareness campaign and announce special incentives for women who gain admission for training.
The minister expressed these views while chairing a meeting of heads of attached departments of the ministry here on Tuesday while a delegation of the Surgical Instruments Manufacturers Association of Pakistan (SIMAP), Sialkot attended the meeting especially.
Chief Executive Officer of the National Productivity Organization (NPO), Alamgir Chaudhry gave detailed feedback, particularly about improving productivity in export industries, assessment of chain management, inventory management, energy management, and quality production checked in 9 factories operating in Sialkot.
Chairman of SIMAP, Yousaf Hassan Bajwa proposed foreign branding of surgical exports of Pakistan and sought the support of the government to create a company in order to reorient the brand image of Pakistani products globally.
The minister encouraged the idea of the SIMAP regarding the global branding of exports and advised the association to take it up at the private level. He also ensured government support at all levels for this highly critical proposal.
The minister suggested using the success story of Sialkot sports goods for improving the global market profile of other products as well.
Another aspect discussed was the lack of testing and certification regarding medical equipment for exports in European and Central Asian markets.
At the moment only SGS is providing this facility which is very expensive and also cannot do the certification of all surgical companies in Pakistan. It can take up the certification of 30 to 35 companies in one year, the Chairman of SIMAP informed.
Chief Executive Officer, of Pakistan Stone Development Company (PASDEC), Babar Miraj Shami unfolded a market plan regarding the granite and marble industry in Pakistan and added that mostly the product is mined through blasting which causes 70 percent of the product loss of the product.
He requested for measures to stop the practice by taking up the issue with the provincial government. He sought government support for the marble industry by financing the stalls held in different fairs worldwide including China, USA, Italy, Turkey, and UAE in addition to establishing warehouses in China and Italy.