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| Sunday, 15 February 2004 |
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| News Business Features Editorial
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APF membership on the increase by Elmo Leonard Pakistan, Nepal, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and other Gulf nations have expressed willingness to join the 14-member Asian Packaging Federation (APF) on the initiative of APF's president, Dharmatilake Ratnayake. Ratnayake was in Pakistan recently as guest-of-honour of an international exhibition of printing, food processing and packaging. Ratnayake (61) who is also the vice president of the World Packaging Organisation (WPO) is involved in packaging through his working career. He is revered by the packaging industrialists of near nations. Ratnayake has also been invited to Nepal, to help improve their packaging industry, but conforming to his commitment to conserve APF funds, will travel to Nepal in two months. On assuming office as President, APF, Ratnayake pledged to help expand APF membership and uplift the packaging industries of underdeveloped nations. The APF membership includes, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, China, Japan, Russia and Australia and covers the Asia Pacific region, the most populous area in the world. Ratnayake who is also President, Sri Lanka Institute of Packaging (SLIP), travelled to Pakistan, with SLIP administrative secretary, Harris de Silva and vice president, JDC Perera. SLIP has a membership of 150. The inauguration of the Pakistan Packaging Institute, scheduled to be held in Karachi, in two months would coincide with a board meeting of APF with an initial membership of 300 packaging corporates. The (American) CIA, considers Sri Lanka's packaging industry, as a developed one. SLIP was formed in 1975 on the instructions of GATT, Geneva, packaging experts, who visited the country when the domestic packaging industry was highly underdeveloped. The development of the local packaging industry is an example to some Asian nations. Pakistan will shortly send 20 printing and packaging technicians to Sri Lanka, for training. The local bodies concerned with printing are Sri Lanka Association of Printers, Ingrin Institute of Printing and Graphics and Sri Lanka Institute of Printing. Pakistan had also requested that a group of their packaging professionals visit Sri Lanka. |
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