| Date: | December 09, 2013 |
| Venue: | Avari Hotel, Lahore |
| Time: | 09:00 AM - 07:00 PM |
The conference, organized by the Punjab Board of Investment and Trade, began at 9:00 am and consisted of several sessions covering various aspects of the textile sector. Dr. Ijaz Nabi, Advisor on Economic Affairs officially inaugurated the ITC and hailed it as an important initiative for promoting the textile industry of Pakistan. The speakers at the conference included The Federal Minister for Trade Mr. Khurram Dastagir Khan, the Planning & Development Chairman, Mian Muhammad Mansha and Mr. Bashir Ali Muhammad, the President of Global Apparel Brands, Inc. Mr. Per Gasseholm, and the Senior Vice President at Technopak Advisors Mr. Amit Gugnani as well as a number local and foreign textile leaders.
Students from the textile departments of leading national universities were also present.
Apart from the main sessions, another highlight of the conference was the stalls set up by the main sponsors. Leading textile brands like Kohinoor Mills, Trade associations like APTMA, PTEA and PRGMEA also displayed products that were at par with any international brand.
The concluding session was addressed by the Chief Minister Punjab, Mian Shahbaz Sharif. He said that Pakistan, despite being a big producer of cotton, was lagging behind Bangladesh and other neighboring countries. He believed that in order to achieve due status among the textile producing countries, full attention would have to be paid to textile sector which was very important for national economy.
The CM congratulated the Punjab Board of Investment and Trade for arranging the conference which, he said, would play an important role in promoting awareness about the importance of textile sector and interaction between stakeholders. He also thanked the participants and presented commemorative shields to all the speakers.