Joining hands: Garment industry, China Chamber sign cooperation deal

Textile firms of both sides to work jointly for strengthening trade

LAHORE:

The Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PRGMEA) and the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Textile and Apparel (CCCT) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to promote and expand cooperation between Pakistan and Chinese textile and apparel companies.

The signing ceremony, held during the China Asia Textile Forum 2016 in Shanghai, was attended by apparel associations and other leading Chinese garment companies. PRGMEA Chief Coordinator Ijaz Khokhar and CCCT Chairman Jiang Hui inked the MoU.

This marks the first time a Pakistani garment body has signed an agreement with an overseas chamber with the intent of strengthening trade in the sector.



According to the agreement, PRGMEA will provide visa assistance to Chinese companies through invitation letters.

In the initial phase, a CCCT delegation will visit Pakistan to attend the Texpo fair being held for the first time from April 7 to 10. PRGMEA will arrange factory visits and business-to-business meetings with its members for the delegation.

The association also plans on arranging a delegation for a trip to China by the end of this year.

It is expected that Chinese companies will establish their units in the economic zones planned under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor through joint ventures, with PRGMEA playing the lead role.

The two bodies have agreed to manage business contacts, seminars, meetings and exhibitions among other arrangements to make potential partners and export possibilities available in the two countries.

PRGMEA and CCCT will assist each other in small and medium-sized business development, provide technical assistance, search for partners for trade and joint ventures, as well as render other services of interest for business entities of both the parties.

In his presentation, Khokhar highlighted the overall situation and development trend in Pakistan’s garment sector and textile industry. “CCCT as part of the ministry of commerce is the largest textile and apparel trade agency both in China and the world,” he said.

“CCCT member companies, totalling more than 12,000 and operating in 34 provinces across the country, are engaged in the production, export and import of textile fibres, yarns, fabrics, clothing, home textiles, industrial textiles and accessories.”

The PRGMEA chief coordinator saw vast opportunities in the textile sector and asked policymakers to help the garment industry in making the agreement successful.

Calling for exchange of business delegations so that both the sides could have first-hand knowledge of the available opportunities, Khokhar hoped that bilateral economic relations would strengthen further to create a win-win situation.

He said China was well positioned to take advantage of Pakistan’s economic potential and its geo-strategic location, adding it should “make trade and investment the central pillar of this cooperation.”

Published in The Express Tribune, March 29^th,  2016.

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