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The SENATE's Special Committee (SSC) on "CHALLENGES OF WTO", which met
under the chairmanship of Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, Federal Minister for
Privatisation & Investment here today has underlined the need for closer inter
ministerial coordination in all areas related to WTO and to develop
indigenous expertise for meeting the challenges of WTO regime.
Dr. Hafeez Shaikh agreed to the proposal that the ministries and organizations
dealing directly with WTO matters should be strengthened with technical
personals so that these become proactive in preparing Pakistan for the
challenges of WTO. The Committee emphasized that National Tariff Commission,
Institute of Foreign Trade and WTO Council should be activated to
prepare the country for the task ahead.
Earlier, Dr. Muhammad Zubair Khan an expert briefed SSC on the WTO matters and
said that after the elimination of quota Pakistan would benefit in the areas
where we were already touching the upper limit as we were capable of going
beyond the present limit with increase in production particularly in
Yarn, Cotton, Hosiery items. However, for products where we could not even
exhaust our present quota the chances were that Pakistan would loose market of
these items, he added and said that we needed to improve our marketing
skills and energize NTC to watch our national interest whenever some country
was dumping its goods in the Pakistani market.
Dr. Ashfaque H. Khan an economist of repute while making his presentation on
'Emergence of Regional Trading Blocks and their Implications on Pakistan'
said that Pakistan's textile industry was geared to the challenges of WTO,
however, Pakistan should try to activate ECO and SAARC and endeavor to join
some big regional trading block. Moreover, SAARC and ECO should be taken on
Board to raise unanimous voice at all WTO forums. A lot was to be done for the
agriculture and other sectors, he opined. Presentations from both the experts
were followed by question and answer session. The next meeting of SSC will be
held on March 12, 2004 for briefings from WTO Watch Group,
Straits and experts.
The SSC had so far gathered proposals from the representatives of Federation
of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce & Industries (FPCCI), All Pakistan Textile
Mills Association (APTAMA), Food, Agriculture & Livestock sectors, State
Engineering Corporation, Pakistan Engineering Development Board, Pakistan
Automobile Motors Association and the Pharmaceutical Association who made
presentations on challenges confronting Pakistan's Engineering, Automobile and
Pharmaceutical industries in the wake of WTO regime and their solutions in its
previous meetings.
The members of the SSC Senators Prof. Khurshid Ahmed, Mushahid Hussain Syed,
Mr. Muhammad Ishaq Dar, Dr. Muhammad Akbar Khawaja, Mr. Muhammad Azam Khan
Swati, Mrs. Roshan Khursheed Bharucha, Ch. Muhammad Anwar Bhinder and
Iftikharullah Babar Secretary Committee attended the meeting.