UNHCR Commissioner briefed on carpet sector

LAHORE: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific Damla Bayuktaskin along with the delegation visited the office of Pakistan Carpet Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PCMEA) here Sunday.

The Association’s Senior Vice-Chairman Usman Ashraf, senior central leader Abdul Latif Malik, Riaz Ahmed, Major (R) Akhtar Nazir and Muhammad Riaz welcomed the delegation. During the meeting, bilateral issues regarding teaching skills to Afghan refugees were discussed. The UN delegation was also given detailed information regarding the technical activities of the Carpet Training Institute (CTI), production and exports of hand-made carpets.

The delegation was also briefed about the details of the establishment of a centre to teach skills to Afghan refugees in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and asked for support, on which the Commissioner assured them of all possible support. Usman Ashraf told the head of the delegation that the industry of handmade carpets is a cottage industry spread in different parts of the country, which directly or indirectly provides employment to about one million people. He said that Afghan refugees living in Pakistan are also involved in the handloom carpet industry. ‘From here the partially finished raw materials are also sent to Afghanistan and there, the Afghan skilled workers send it back after completing the remaining parts which are exported to different countries. He said that Pakistan’s handmade carpets industry is a source of large-scale employment in Afghanistan as well. PMEA also presented various suggestions, including considering the demand for financial support of skilled workers, besides apprising them about various projects of teaching skills to Afghan refugees. At the end, the PCMEA SVC Usman Ashraf presented a souvenir to Damla Bayuktaskin on behalf of the association.