KARACHI: Pakistan Carpet Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PCMEA) on Sunday congratulated the entire nation on being excluded from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list and said that the decision will help in boosting the Pakistani economy by opening the doors of direct foreign investment in the country.
These views were expressed by Senior Vice Chairman Usman Ashraf of PCMEA while addressing the meeting of the association in Lahore today. Usman Ashraf said that the success has been achieved, getting out of FATF’s gray list will make it easier for Pakistan to get foreign funding.
He said that thanks to Allah that Pakistan got rid of FATF’s gray list, this success will further improve the reputation and prestige of Pakistan at the global level. The nation deserves to be congratulated for this success and it is a recognition of our great sacrifices in the war against terrorism and FATF has also recognized these efforts of Pakistan and especially Pakistan’s efforts for counter-terrorism.
The PCMEA meeting was informed that letters will be forwarded to participants and purchasers of Lahore international carpet exhibition for future cooperation in the field of Pakistani exports in the international markets. To increase the Pakistani carpet and marketing in the international market, efforts will be made to participate in all the exhibitions abroad. He said that a future line of action will also be adopted in this regard.
The meeting was also attended by a large number of participants including Chairperson Carpet Training Institute (CTI) Parvez Hanif, Senior Central leader of the Association Abdul Latif Malik, Senior Member Riaz Ahmed, Saeed Khan, Ejaz ur Rehman, Shahid Hassan, Akbar Malik and many others.
Addressing the meeting Usman Ashraf said that the handmade carpet industry is facing a large number of hardships and troubles on the part of State Bank of Pakistan and other government departments.
The PCMA leader has demanded of the government to help in removing the hurdles and solve the problems being faced by the industry so that Pakistani exports could be flourished in the international market. He said it will help boost the country’s economy and will also help in control the unemployment in the country.
He said that the Association will also write letters to different ministries for removing the hurdles being faced by the carpet association. Usman Ashraf urged the government resolve the problems of carpet industry so that exports could be enhanced at international level.
The PCMA leader also expressed his confidence over the international exhibition held in Lahore last month and hope that the exhibition will be beneficial for the carpet industry. He said that exhibitors showed keen interest in the extremely high quality and beautifully designed carpet products displayed in various stalls. He said that now its our duty to get benefit from their interest.
He said that Pakistan’s hand-made carpets have unique recognition all over the world due to their quality and beautiful designs. Hoping for complete cooperation from government side, he vowed to work for Pakistani exports in the international market as per desire shown by the participants of Lahore exhibition.