LAHORE: The All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (Aptma) and the Cotton Council International, US to boost bilateral cooperation in the area of cotton besides exploring investment opportunities in Pakistan, a statement said.

A delegation of CCI, US, headed by Director of Cotton US Supply Chain William Bettendorf, Technical Assistant of CCI Lieven Verraest, Cotton Inc’s Brian Dewayne, Carl Peltzer, Carlo Bocardo, Jeff Elder, merchants and Al Hlavin, visited Aptma on Thursday.

The delegation conducted a seminar on cotton qualities, challenges and solutions, where Head of Political and Economic of US Consulate General, Lahore, Kathleen Gibilisco was the chief guest.

CCI Regional Director William Bettendorf said that the visit of the delegation has become a regular feature over the last few years. He hoped that this interaction would help in resolving issues relating to production of cotton and its trade between the two countries.

Bettendorf said that the objective of organising the seminar was to apprise the Aptma members about cotton quality, challenges and possible solutions and the challenges being faced by Pakistani cotton growers.

Speakers from the Cotton Council International discussed the challenges being faced in the production of cotton in various cotton growing areas all over the world.

They highlighted the aspects relating to the development of eco-friendly cotton production in textile and business challenges, and solutions for the Pakistani textile sector.

The foreign delegates updated the Aptma members about the best global practices in cotton and textile trade being adopted by various countries to meet the new challenges.

Aptma Chairman Abdul Rahim Nasir welcomed the delegation along with. Kamran Arshad, Khawaja Mohammad Anis, Asad Shafi and Secretary General Raza Baqir.

Speaking on the occasion, Aptma Chairman Abdul Rahim Nasir said the US is Pakistan’s largest trade and investment partner with a total bilateral trade of $9.85 billion during 2021/22, including textile exports of more than $5 billion from Pakistan to the US.

He said that cotton production in Pakistan has unfortunately dropped to around 8 million bales this year as against estimated consumption of 15 million bales.

The Aptma chairman argued for enhancing bilateral trade relations to ensure technology transfer for high-yielding cotton seeds to Pakistan. He also stressed for facilitating the entry of international seed companies with transgenic technology.

Nasir urged the US delegation to introduce improved, genetically modified, and certified seeds in Pakistan besides sharing information on weather forecasts.

He stressed for synergy with the US Cotton Research Institutes for the capacity building of Agriculture Research Institutions in Pakistan to encourage training on contamination-free cotton production and the establishment of joint ventures with Pakistani partners.

Head of the Economic Wing of US Consulate Kathleen Gibilisco, expressed hope that such programmes would continue in the future and assured the Aptma of fullest cooperation and assistance from the American diplomatic missions in Pakistan for conducting such events.

She said that such visits not only enhance trade and investment opportunities but also help in promoting cultural relations.

Gibilisco urged the members of the US delegation to help in improving the image of Pakistan in the US and to contribute towards vindicating any bad image of the country back at home.

She added that mutual cooperation between the American cotton growers and Pakistan textile industry offered a win-win situation for both countries where raw cotton imported from the US is converted into manufactured textile products and exported back to US after enormous value addition.

The envoy emphasised for growth and sustainability of trade and economic relations between Pakistan and the US. She expressed confidence that the current trend of growth in trade and economic ties would continue in future as well.

Aptma Senior Vice Chairman Kamran Arshad gave a detailed presentation on the textile sector as well as production and consumption patterns of cotton in Pakistan. He presented an analysis of US-Pakistan bilateral trade and suggested a way forward for promotion of bilateral relations and upsurging cotton production in Pakistan.

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