19 December 2004	Sunday	06 Ziqa'ad 1425

LAHORE, Dec 18: Punjab chief minister's adviser Syed Mowahid Husain Shah has stressed the need for close coordination between public and private sectors to meet the challenges of the post-WTO regime.

Maximum value-addition was required in the textile sector to give a fillip to exports, Mr Shah said at a seminar on "Textile industry: hurdles and solutions through effective cost management," organized by the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Pakistan at a hotel on The Mall on Saturday.

Mr Shah, who was the chief guest, underlined the need for creating skilled manpower to meet the increasing demand of the textile industry. "The target of 30 per cent minimum growth in the textile industry will be impossible to achieve unless there is simultaneous and commensurate increase in skilled manpower."

The government, he said, would soon launch a training programme to equip the workers with better skills and knowledge.

Lauding the role of the ICMAP in productive activity, Mr Shah said the institute was keeping its members abreast with the latest management techniques, especially in the most important area of the textile industry.

He also urged the cost and management accountants to achieve competence, add skill to their profession, apply them with dedication and contribute positively to production in all sectors of the economy.

ICMAP President Sher Afghan Malik in his welcome speech briefed the participants on the recorded history of textile traditions. The textile industry, he said, accounted for 60 per cent of Pakistan's export earnings and 46 per cent of the entire manufacturing base of the country.

"Pakistan has an enormous opportunity to increase its share in the global market, as the present $18 trillion annual demand for textiles is globally increasing at an average rate of 2.5 per cent," Mr Malik said.

Pointing out the weaknesses of the industry, he said his organization could help the textile sector set up and run labour training centres, assist in preparation of syllabus and courses.

He also proposed setting up of a committee of technocrats, economists, scientists and dedicated entrepreneurs to recommend policies on industrial planning on economic-based considerations alone.