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The SENATE's Special Committee (SSC) on "CHALLENGES OF WTO" which met here
today under the chairmanship of the Federal Minister for Privatisation &
Investment Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh proposed to bring all committees and task
forces established in various ministries on WTO related matters under the
umbrella of SSC for accelerating and consolidating the efforts to prepare
Pakistan for the challenges of WTO regime.
It was agreed that the domestic hindrances and difficulties need to be removed
for paving the way for the progress of the local industry and to by changing
the attitude of various departments to help strengthen and encourage our
industry to be compatible in the free global market.
There was an urgent need to establish outstanding training centers to improve
the skills of our manpower in all sectors for competing in the WTOregime, the
members said.
They added that the quality of Pakistani products required to be improved on
international level and necessary measures were to be formulated to face the
challenges of anti dumping duty for our products.
Earlier, the representatives of Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce &
Industries (FPCCI) and All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTAMA) gave an
overview of the respective sectors and admitted that a lot of work was to be
done by the private sector while learning to live in a free market environment
and said that massive investments by the private sector needed to be made
productive. It was essential to conduct studies on the impacts of accession of
China to WTO, enlargement of European Union and bilateral agreements between
various countries.
The SSC will meet on December 30, 2003 to seek the views of State Engineering
Corporation, Pakistan Engineering Development Board, Pakistan Automobile
Motors Association and the Pharmaceutical Association.
The members of the SSC Senators Mushahid Hussain Syed, Mohammad Ishaq Dar,
Nisar Ahmad Memon, Lt. Gen. Retd Javed Ashraf, Syed Dilawar Abbas, Mir
Muhammad Naseer Mengal, Muhammad Abbas Komaili, Mrs. Roshan Khursheed Bharucha,
Ch.Muhammad Anwar Bhinder and Iftikharullah Babar Secretary Committee attended
the meeting.