November 15, 2006	Wednesday	Shawwal 22, 1427

ISLAMABAD, Nov 14: Commerce Minister Humayun Akhtar Khan said on Tuesday that the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) will be under the administrative control of his ministry to ensure that its policies are in line with the overall federal government policies.

Addressing a press conference here to highlight the salient features of the authority, the minister said that the authority to replace the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) would work extensively to promote export and production of commodities through various measures.

He announced that the prime minister had already appointed EPB Chairman Tariq Ikram as chief executive officer (CEO) and Naved Arif as the secretary TDAP. The EPB was established in 1963 to stimulate promotion of exports, but the dynamics of international trade have changed dramatically, which compelled the government to establish a new organisation.

However, he said the TDAP will have administrative and financial autonomy for achieving its stated objectives, including flexibility to hire human resource at market salaries. Its mandate has also been expanded to include trade development rather than only export promotion as was the case with the defunct EPB, he added.

The human resource of TDAP will comprise a mix of qualified people both from the government service and the private sector, he said adding, the TDAP will have a non-lapsable fund, which will be administered and controlled by it.

He said the budget of the TDAP will be approved by the federal government and the export marketing development board has been replaced by the TDAP board. The EMDF operations, however, will continue in the same manner as before.

The audit of the authority will be carried out by the Auditor General of Pakistan, who has the power to audit the accounts of the authority, he said adding within one hundred and twenty days of the close of each financial year the TDAP will submit its annual general report to the board for approval along with the AGP report.