July 26, 2002	Friday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 15,1423

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ISLAMABAD, July 25: The Minister for Science and Technology Prof Dr Attaur Rehman emphasized the need for producing quality products to face the future challenges as within two years time markets will open up and protective walls will disappear.

“Our markets will be flooded with foreign items and only those industrial concerns with good quality products would be able to survive”, the minister observed.

He said Pakistan’s total exports vary and could not be increased because more than 80 per cent of our total exports were heavily dependent on agricultural produce with variable quality and of low value.

He was speaking at the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority (Smeda) and Pakistan National Accreditation Council (PNAC) to promote training and awareness for developing quality control systems in SME.

Mr Iqbal Mustafa of Smeda and Mr Abdul Rashid Khan, director general PNAC signed the agreement for coordination with the local trade associations for training needs identification.

The minister said science and technology has a key role to play to boost country’s exports as the economic and social development of the country will depend greatly in resolving trade, environment, health and safety issues.

He said the government has recently conducted ISO 9,000 certification programmes in which over 2,000 companies were certified. Besides major programmes in the field of information technology (IT) and human development programmes have also been launched.

Abdul Rashid Khan said better understanding and application of the word, “quality” was key to the solution of many problems arising out of all these issues.

Under the crash awareness raising and training programmes in the field of quality, 500 seminars and courses would be organized throughout the country in the next two years. These programmes were being organized with the chamber of commerce, trade associations and other institutions in the government and private sector.

To have an effective and long term impact of this programme, he said, contacts were being established and MoUs were being signed with other similar organizations. In this connection Smeda was the first organization with which the agreement was signed.

Smeda and PNAC will jointly promote the establishment of Quality Control Circles (QCC) to support the Crash Awareness Raising and Training Programme in the field of quality.