The Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers & Exporters Association (PRGMEA) has announced to bring the 35th World Fashion Convention to Lahore, Pakistan first time in the history of Pakistan in collaboration with the International Apparel Federation, terming it the biggest achievement to pull the country out of economic crisis through boosting exports of value-added textile products amidst GSP Plus Status to Pakistan. One of the world’s largest Apparel Fashion Convention, going to be held at a local hotel from Nov 11-13, 2019, is aimed at opening new avenues for the domestic garment industry to collaborate with the international buyers and leading global brands.
The International Apparel Federation Secretary General Matthijs Crietee, accompanied by PRGMEA Chief Coordinator Ijaz Khokhar while addressing a press conference on the second day of TEXPO at Expo Cnetre, observed that IAF is the only global federation, which represents apparel associations from 60 countries, having overall membership of more than 150,000 companies. He said that Pakistan is also the member of IAF and last year IAF’s regional office was setup in the office of Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association in Sialkot. He said that the theme of the 35th edition of this well-established global apparel Convention is “Collaborative growth with sustainability for all.” He said that the event will be attended by world class speakers and offer global network opportunities during the conference.
He said that the IAF is a global platform uniting apparel buyers with manufacturers and this crucial relationship will be at the heart of the conference, as we focus on growing together. PRGMEA Chief Coordinator Ijaz Khokhar, who is also IAF Executive Board Member from Pakistan, observed on this occasion that the IAF Convention will gather apparel industry leaders from across the world and will be a unique opportunity for Pakistani apparel industry to learn new techniques.
PRGMEA Chief Coordinator informed that a high-powered delegation of PRGMEA had also attended the 34th IAF World Fashion Convention, held last time in Maastricht, Netherlands, where Pakistani exporters held a number of successful meetings with Centre for the promotion of imports from developing countries (CBI). He said that World Fashion Convention is held every year in one of the member countries. He said that Russia and Bangladesh had also applied for the 35th Convention. However, Pakistan won the convention bid with full struggle and proper presentation. “In the upcoming world class convention, we would have a detailed presentation on Pakistan and apparel industry for creating awareness about the potential of Pakistan as production hub of textile items especially garments,” he added.
