SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry Vice President Mian Anjum Nisar inaugurated the two-day 8th Color & Chem Expo here at Expo Center on Saturday. Local and foreign guests and PIAF Chairman Faheem ur Rehman Sehgal was also present. After the inauguration, the organizer of the exhibition, Rashidul Haque, took the chief guest and other dignitaries to the stalls and briefed them about displayed products. The Pakistan chapter of American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists was also launched during the exhibition, with Abdul Rahim Chughtai appointed as its President. Talking to media, Mian Anjum Nisar said that caretaker government needed to reduce the cost of doing business for the ailing industry of the country. “The past mistakes have already dragged the country towards a grave economic crisis so the interim government should avoid repeating such mistakes,” he added. Anjum Nisar said the economic crisis in Pakistan was due to the past mistakes and “we should learn from those mistakes and move forward.” He said Pakistan should follow other countries in economic development. To a question, Anjum Nisar said that he hoped that the interim government would not repeat the mistakes. He said opportunities have to be created to develop local industries and national economy. He said that the new government needed to reduce the cost of doing business. Pakistan needs new industrial units. Trade among SAARC countries is not satisfactory, he said, adding like other regional trading blocs in the world we need to promote regional trade. To a query, Anjum Nisar stressed the need for enhancing regional trade among the SAARC members countries. Anjum Nisar, who is also a former FPCCI president, said that import of raw materials and interest rates would have to be brought down, adding that in the absence of subsidies, revitalizing the local industry was a big challenge. In response to a question, he mentioned that interest rate in Pakistan is 22 percent, while the interest rate in China is barely 3.5 percent, Bangladesh 6 percent and India 6.5 percent. “I don’t think that the interest rates of the State Bank of Pakistan will decrease, rather there are reports of an increase. Due to the increase in the interest rates, the Pakistani industry cannot compete with the rest of the world,” he observed. Anjum Nisar said that in the last two years, Pakistan’s exports have plunged from $31.5 billion to $27.5 billion. Director Event & Conference International Rashidul Haq told the media that more than 200 companies from China, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Germany, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and United Kingdom are participating in the two-day expo. He said that Pakistani companies had set up their stalls for joint ventures. The participation of foreign companies in the national exhibition is a ray of hope in the current economic crisis, he added. American Association of Textile, Chemical and Colorist (Pakistan Chapter) President Abdul Rahim Chaghtai said that the Pakistan chapter of AATCC had been opened for the promotion of local textile industry. The main objective of the expo is to create an atmosphere of transfer of modern technology and joint ventures between local and foreign companies, he added.