May 8, 2002	Wednesday	Safar 24, 1423

SIALKOT, May 7: Export Promotion Bureau chairman Tariq Ikram on Tuesday said the bureau had improved the provision of infrastructure, laws and other requirements to benefit the exporting community.

He said this while addressing a meeting of local industrialists and exporters at the Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) here after visiting the site of Sialkot airport, export processing zone, dry port and various industrial units.

The EPB chairman said that newly-introduced “export finance guarantee” and “export soft-term loans” schemes of the bureau were being successfully implemented to benefit the small exporters.

He said the EPB would soon introduce a special incentives package for boosting the country’s exporting sector as the exporters were injecting new life into the sick economy by earning the foreign exchange. He also sought some positive and effective suggestions from the SCCI in this regard.

To a question, the EPB chairman said that Pakistani foreign trade missions had been given a special task of exploring the international markets to increase exports.

“The government was actively considering a proposal of appointing the “masterminds” of exports as commercial consulates in Pakistan’s embassies abroad to redress the grievances of exporters regarding the alleged poor performance of the commercial attaches posted abroad,” he added.

Hailing the export culture of Sialkot, Tariq Ikram called upon the business community to focus on quality of goods, besides exploring the new international export markets.