Apparel conference commenced

Apparel South Asia Conference 2008 commenced with the participation of apparel industrialists in South Asian region.

Conference Chair Prof. Lakdas Fernando said: "At a time of economic downturn and chaos thought the world events such as this involving international participation are not easy to get off the ground. So it is with a sigh of relief that I can say that we just about made it while several similar events in India and Bangladesh had to be cancelled or postponed indefinitely due to poor participation.

This is our very first event and I apologies to you all for any shortcomings. We are now ready and resolved to correct our mistakes and build on our strengths to make Apparel South Asia 2009 a memorable events for the entire region.

SAARC as a body has the potential to be a formidable player in the Global Textile and Apparel scene.

The Apparel South Asia Conference is a minuscule attempt to explore the vast potential of one trading area of this region namely textiles and apparel which can provide employment to millions of economically disadvantaged people while providing much needed foreign exchange," he said. The conference theme Beyond 2010 Challenges and Opportunities provides the platform to discuss the rapidly changing nature of the apparel trade and how SAARC manufacturers and exporters should respond, consolidate and strengthen their share of the World Market, he said.

Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayaka said this conference is important to Sri Lanka, when a question mark bangs over our continued enjoyment of GSP+ facility of exporting to the European Union.

"Perhaps this question will not hold the same urgency or even relevance to you as it does for us. But in my event we must stand together in this competitive world to help each other to perfect our industries," Prime Minister said.

"Our manufacturers in the South Asian Region, consisting of India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka form a considerably powerful manufacturing block for world apparel needs. But, the region's technological inventive development lags behind for instance a fast developing giant like China. Productivity too is comparatively low in the region. To be competitive we must overcome these set backs," he said.