APO promises support to Pakistan

Secretary general looking forward to cordial relations.

ISLAMABAD:

Asian Productivity Organisa­tion (APO) Secretary General Mari Amano of Japan, along with his Pakistan counterpart Khawaja Muhammad Yousaf, visited the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) and briefed the business community about various projects that would enhance the productivity in various sectors of Pakistan’s economy.

Amano said APO, through the National Productivity Organizations (NPOs) of member countries, is focused on contributing effectively to the sustainable socioeconomic development of Asia and the Pacific by enhancing productivity of businesses and industries.

He said small and medium enterprises (SMEs) play a crucial role in national economies and the APO is working to further strengthen the NPOs of member countries to promote their development.



Amano said Pakistan has been granted the GSP Plus status by the European Union and it is crucial that Pakistani manufacturers and exporters focus on innovation-led productivity for improving the quality and performance of their products.

Amano said that close relations between APO and Pakistani Chambers of Commerce are crucial to bring more efficiency in the different sectors of the economy. The APO represents 20 economies of Asia and the Pacific, said Amano, assuring that it will try to work with NPO and Pakistani Chambers of Commerce to promote green technologies in Pakistan.

He said the APO also helps member countries cooperate with each other in their productivity drives by sharing knowledge, information and experience and hoped that such efforts would prove beneficial for Pakistani private sector as well.

Speaking at the occasion, Shaban Khalid, the ICCI president, appreciated the APO’s role for making member economies more productive and competitive by enhancing their productivity. He stressed for even closer cooperation between APO, NPO and Pakistani chambers to bring efficiency and improvement in the productivity of private sector including industrial, services, agriculture, energy efficiency and other areas.

Khalid said many sectors of Pakistan’s economy have huge potential to grow and APO should further strengthen the NPO of Pakistan to create more productivity awareness in industrial set ups, address the issues of manufacturing and services sectors and ensure better implementation of productivity concepts in the private sector.

He assured that ICCI will work closely with APO to promote productivity in private sector for a prosperous Pakistan. Khawaja Muhammad Yousaf, the chief executive officer at the NPO of Pakistan, said that from 2009 to 2012, 459 training programmes have been conducted in the country to enhance the productivity of various sectors.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 11^th, 2014.

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