ISLAMABAD, AUG 16 /DNA/ – Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal has urged Sialkot’s exporters to set ambitious targets, embrace technology and move from low-cost manufacturing to high-value, internationally recognised brands, saying exporters earning foreign exchange should be treated as national heroes.
Addressing the first-ever Business Networking Reception of the German-Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GPCCI) held in collaboration with the PRGMEA, Ahsan Iqbal said Pakistan had a major opportunity to build a complementary partnership with Germany in engineering, technology, manufacturing and technical education. He also said incentives should be offered to companies that achieve the milestone of becoming Pakistan’s first billion-dollar export company, while Germany’s vocational training model could help Pakistan develop a skilled workforce.
The event brought together senior government officials, presidents and office-bearers of trade associations and members of Sialkot’s business community.
In a key development, GPCCI and PRGMEA signed a Memorandum of Understanding to promote and expand readymade garment trade between Pakistan and Germany.
German Ambassador to Pakistan and GPCCI Patron-in-Chief Ina Lepel, in a recorded video message, stressed the continuing importance of GSP+ for Pakistan-Germany economic relations and expressed hope to visit Sialkot soon. She also noted the resilience of Pakistan’s business sector and said further work remained important on GSP+ issues.
Former Federal Minister for Commerce Khurram Dastgir Khan said Germany was Pakistan’s most important and largest trading partner in the European Union and recalled Pakistan’s successful efforts to secure GSP+ status in 2014. He urged trade associations to help small exporters gain greater access to European markets and congratulated Sialkot-based Forward Sports for manufacturing footballs for the FIFA World Cup 2026.
PRGMEA former Chairman Ijaz A. Khokhar, who is also Vice President of the International Apparel Federation (IAF), welcomed the GPCCI initiative, saying stronger Pakistan-Germany business engagement could help Sialkot exporters expand their presence in European markets. He was also congratulated on becoming the first Pakistani elected to the IAF vice presidency.
GPCCI President Syed Nadeem Ali Kazmi said the reception represented the chamber’s deliberate move to extend its activities beyond Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. He invited Sialkot’s industrialists and exporters with German business interests to join GPCCI and use its platform to develop trade and investment links.
PRGMEA former chairman Sohail A. Sheikh, speaking on the occasion, stressed the need for stronger institutional cooperation to expand apparel exports, improve international market access and enable Pakistani manufacturers to compete in higher-value segments.
PRGMEA Chairman (North Zone) Imran Salahuddin said that the MoU provides a framework for sharing trade and investment information and supporting a favourable business environment. It was signed by Syed Nadeem Ali Kazmi and PRGMEA Chairman (North Zone) Imran Salahuddin.
The reception marked GPCCI’s first business networking initiative in Sialkot, providing a new platform for closer engagement between the city’s export-oriented industries and German businesses.
