“Addressing the oath taking ceremony of the All Pakistan Textile Sizing Industries Association (APTSIA) at Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) Complex here late Saturday night, he said that policy has been finalized after extensive consultation with all  stakeholders. ..He termed textile is the mainstay of national economy and said that it wasunder deep crisis for the last many years. He said that government fully understands its importance and was taking best possible measures to drag it out of crisis. He said that President Asif Ali Zardari has also discussed market access related issues with US president Barack Hussein Obama. .He had made it clear that Pakistan wants trade not aid and in order to promote exports from Pakistan, US has to give incentives as already enjoyed by India and Bangladesh. He said that US president has given a positive response and hopefully this issue would be resolved very soon in accordance with the wishes of the textile exporters. ..Supporting textile industry, Rana Farooq Saeed said that  government should also give incentive to Textile Industry as it has been encouraging the fertilizer industry. About the load shedding issue, Federal Minister said that he already had series of meetings with managing directors of PEPCO and Gas companies with clear directive to avoid unscheduled load shedding for the smooth running of our industrial sector. ..About the issues of sizing industry, he said that a meeting would be held on Monday to resolve their Income Tax (IT) related issues. “The other problems of this sector would also be resolved very soon,” he assured. Haji Muhammad Akram Ansari chairman NA (National Assembly) Standing Committee on Textile Industry and Mian Hamid Javaid President FCCI were also present during this meeting. .

Date:6/2/2009

Source:Pakistan Times