ISLAMABAD, March 1: Chief Executive Officer of Engineering Development Board (EDB) Imtiaz A Rastgar has called upon industrialists to study seriously trends of world trade in order to increase exports.

Addressing the members of Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry, he advised them that they should utilize the services of the commmercial counsellors abroad to gain knowledge of marketing opportunities in their respective countries.

He said that things had changed and now these officers were posted abroad after necessary training and their performance was monitored on the basis of level of trade generated by them. He said that the market expansion was necessary for getting more orders to enhance exports.

Mr Rastgar added that international exhibitions and trade fairs played a significant role in capturing foreign markets. He invited them to join the EDB delegation for the forthcoming Hannover and Seoul fairs in April.

He said that the cost of production can be reduced by adopting energy saving devices. In this regard, he cited his personal experience where 40 per cent energy saving was achieved by improving the efficiency of the burner and plugging leakages.

Earlier Chairman Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry Mian Mohammad Hanif in his welcome address appreciated the policy of public and private cooperation adopted by the government.

He said that the induction of the private sector representatives in public sector organizations will improve their working. Mian Hanif added that the roadmap for new business trends will bring change in the industrial sector of the country.

He pointed out that $713 million were spent in 2004-05 on the import of textile machinery alone.

Later Rastgar visited the Faisalabad University and suggested that the development thrust of the university should be confined to the subjects related to the local industry cluster.

Mian Hanif, who is chairman board of directors of the university, underlined the importance of academia-industry linkages and said that the EDB should provide on deputation their experienced manpower for guiding the students of the engineering faculty to improve their knowledge.

He added that the board can also assist the university in building foreign linkages by providing the services of visiting experts for short period.