Regional body strives to develop SMEs

Will work to promote green technologies in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD:

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) play a crucial role in national economies and the Asian Productivity Organisation (APO) is working to further strengthen the productivity organisations of member countries to promote and develop their SMEs, said Dr Indra Pradana Singawinata, Secretary General of APO.

Singawinata, along with his Principal Officer Zainuri Juri, visited the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry’s (FPCCI) Capital Office in Islamabad and outlined the projects that would enhance productivity in various sectors of Pakistan’s economy.

APO is an intergovernmental organisation committed to improving productivity in the Asia-Pacific region. It conducts research and offers advice on how governments can utilise new technologies and promote innovation-led product exports for sustainable development.

The secretary general emphasised the need for close relations between the APO and Pakistani chambers of Commerce to bring more efficiency to different sectors of the economy.

He assured the FPCCI that he would work with the chamber and the National Productivity Organisation (NPO) to promote green technologies in Pakistan.

Speaking on the occasion, FPCCI Vice President Umar Masoodur Rehman appreciated the APO’s role in making member economies more productive and competitive by enhancing their productivity.

He stressed the need for closer cooperation between the APO, NPO and FPCCI to bring efficiency and improvement in the productivity of private sector in the industrial, services, agriculture, energy and other areas.

The VP pointed out that currently Pakistan was facing stiff competition in the international market and it needed to examine its productivity indicators across the value chains of key industrial sectors to make those competitive and achieve sustainable productivity growth.

Calling the SMEs an integral part of the economy, the FPCCI VP stressed the need for strengthening such enterprises in the Asian region.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 12^th, 2022.

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