Holland to modernise Sialkot small industries

DASKA – A Holland-based organisation has announced to chalk out a developmental plan for modernising the Sialkot-based Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to enable them to meet the global trade challenges in the era of World Trade Organisation (WTO).
Addressing a meeting of the district’s business community held at Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), a senior expert, Sjaak Vink from the Holland based organisation PUM, highly hailed the unique export culture of Sialkot and said Sialkot’s exporters had a great potential to explore and capture the new international trade markets by exporting their traditional and non-traditional export items.
There was a dire need for putting Sialkot-based SMEs on modern lines, he said, adding that PUM organisation in Holland would soon chalk out the developmental plan to develop the SMEs voluntarily. He said this organisation (PUM-Holland) was already working for the promotion and development of the SMEs in 70 different countries of the world.
He further said there were bright opportunities for setting up joint ventures between the business community of Sialkot and Holland in different trade fields as Holland’s several companies were showing keen interest in this regard.
He vowed to make all-out efforts to boost mutual trade ties between Pakistan and Holland, saying the time was ripe to further strengthen trade ties between the two countries.
He pledged full support and technical assistance to ensure the easy access of Sialkot’s business community to the international trade markets.
SCCI President Ghulam Mustafa Chaudhry said that Sialkot was manufacturing sports goods, surgical instruments, leather products, gloves of all sorts, textiles items, sports wear, martial art uniforms and accessories, musical instruments, kitchen ware, knives, cutlery items and military uniform badges. He hoped these products could find a good market in the world. Sialkot was a unique city enriched with its historical background and strong industrial base, he said, adding that most of the developed countries were importing surgical instruments from Sialkot.