Razak Dawood says local exporters received 'large orders for face masks'

Pakistani exporters have received large orders for face masks from various countries including US, Canada and Europe, Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood said Thursday.

Taking to Twitter, Dawood felicitated the exporters for obtaining the international orders on the basis of their hard work and efforts and encouraged the business fraternity to seek opportunities like these in order to diversify into new segments of commerce and trade.

"It is part of our strategy to diversify into new segments and this has been achieved by the exporters through their own efforts. I’m sharing this information with others to encourage them to seek more orders from different parts of the world," he said.

Earlier this month, top Pakistani government officials had hinted at making wearing face masks obligatory in public as the first phase of a gradual ease in relaxations in the coronavirus lockdown sent hordes of people to the markets.

Pakistan's primary coronavirus monitoring body, National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) and its head, Planning Minister Asad Umar, had emphasised on the dire need for people to wear face masks in order to curb the spread of the deadly virus.

Umar had said the health ministry had issued directives for the people, making it mandatory for people to wear masks in crowded places.