November 9, 2001	Friday	Shaba’an 22, 1422

KARACHI, Nov 8: The third meeting in series between the foreign lobbyist and local exporters as well as industrialists held here on Thursday to update and discuss the progress made so far in image building of the country in the western world.

The meeting, which was convened by Quota Supervisory Council (QSC) chairman Aziz Memon, was informed about the progress made by the group hired for image building the public relationing in the west.

The participants were informed that direct contacts have been established with the leading newspapers in the US and elsewhere and several news releases portraying good image along with other facts and figures have been issued so far.

The representative of International Communication — Fleishman Hillard — lobbyist and PR consultant Frank Kauffman sought detail information from exporters regarding their losses in export orders compared to that of the corresponding period of last year.

The participants also discussed matters related to job cuts and expected lay-offs in order to prepare a strategy for countering the negative image created by the western media and elsewhere.

The group had earlier held two meetings in Islamabad and Lahore and to complete their basic data regarding the exports and industry of the country in their last leg held this meeting in Karachi.

It was agreed that close contact and quick feedback from exporters and industry will help the media consultant and the lobbyist counter every negative act and respond quickly to the situation.

The consultant has already launched website for image building of Pakistan and assured to use its strong base in 40 locations of the world for this purpose.

In collaboration with the local exporters and manufacturers the group, led by Fleishman Hillard, will also hire some time on world electronic media for image building of the country.

From Pakistan side Alina Khan (buying agent), Azfar Hasan and Naila Butt (manufacturer) were present on the occasion and Fleishman Hillard side was represented by Frank Kauffman and Graham D Vink.

Leading exporters, buying agents and manufacturers, including Export Promotion Bureau officials, Razak Teli, Fawad Ijaz Khan, S M Obaid, Masood Naqi and Abid Chinoy were also present.