January 8, 2003	Wednesday	Ziqa’ad 4, 1423

KARACHI, Jan 7: Despite the fact that some major exporters could not catch their flights to Frankfurt to participate in the Heimtextil, officially 210 exporters were given visas by the German embassy in Islamabad up to Tuesday.

According official figures given by the German embassy to the Ministry of Commerce, in total 250 exporters applied for the visas for participating in the world’s biggest and longest fair for home and household textile, in Frankfurt.

These applicants included 38 exporters who are going to participate in the fair with the assistance from Export Promotion Bureau and remaining are those who have made their own arrangement for the visit.

Nevertheless, only 36 EPB-selected exporters were given visas, while rest are those who had made their private arrangement for the participation.

Exporters have claimed that about 11 leading exporters-cum-manufacturers could not get the visas. They said the chief executives of these export houses could not get the visas, while their junior or working staff were given visas by the German embassy.

Minister of state and chairman, Export Promotion Bureau, Tariq Ikram, told Dawn on telephone that he had approached the foreign office and sought assistance in resolving the issue at the earliest.

He said had the EPB not intervened most of the exporters would have failed to participate in the fair even after making a lot of efforts and arrangements along with the payment of charges to the fair owners.

Tariq Ikram said he had also advised the commercial attache of Pakistani embassy in Frankfurt to ensure movement of material and goods belonging to the exporters who are on their way to the exhibition hall up to January 7, 2003, because thereafter the management of the fair will not allow any movement of cargo or goods into the hall.

He said if the German embassy figures were correct it meant that exporters participation would be around 90 to 95 per cent in the fair.