ISLAMABAD, Feb 28: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has emphasized the need for improving the quality of traditional export items.

According to the press wing of Prime Minister's Secretariat, the prime minister was attending a presentation on Pakistan's participation in the Hanover engineering fair, at the Prime Minister's House here on Monday.

The prime minister said that given Pakistan's relative advantage of availability of quality engineering skills, competitive labour and production cost, there was no reason why the country could not become a key supplier of high quality engineering goods to European companies.

Describing the country's participation in the fair as a good example of the public-private cooperation, Mr Aziz said the event should be utilized to protect and promote soft image of Pakistan as a credible supplier of engineering goods.

Pakistan, he said, should be adequately represented in the fair as it could help increase exports to the Western countries. The prime minister further stated that the government would continue to provide an enabling environment to the private sector and the reconstitution of the Engineering Development Board was a step in this direction, which would further foster the public-private partnership to develop engineer and manufacturing industries of the country.

The meeting dwelt on ways to introduce Pakistan's engineering sector to the European Union through ethical business practices and professional marketing approach. The Hanover fair being held in Germany from April 11-15 is the biggest trade fair in the world.

The meeting was attended by Industries and Production Minister Jehangir Khan Tareen, Adviser on finance Dr Salman Shah, besides senior officials of the Export Promotion Bureau and representatives of the private sector.

Meanwhile, presiding over a high-level meeting, Jehangir Tareen has urged the private sector to seize the opportunity of establishing common effluent treatment plants (CETPs) offered by the government with the assistance of the Asian Development Bank.