AFTEX, ITC to Offer Top Textile & Apparel Training
L-R: Mr. Vansouieng, AFTEX Chairman; Mr. Matthias Knappe, Program Manager, Cotton, Textiles, and Clothing Sector Competitiveness, ITC; and Mr. R. J. Gurley, Chief-of-Party, VALUE Project.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID)’s VALUE Project and the ASEAN Federation of Textile Industries (AFTEX) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the International Trade Center (ITC) to jointly offer trade-related textile and apparel courses in the ASEAN region.
The three parties signed the MOU on October 29, 2009, at AFTEX’s 27th Council Meeting and Plenary Meeting in Cebu, Philippines.
ITC is an agency of both the United Nations (UN) and the World Trade Organization (WTO). It offers “sustainable and inclusive trade development solutions” to stakeholders in developing economies and has developed a series of four textile and apparel courses.
Under the partnership, ITC will provide its trade-related training materials and trainers to AFTEX and VALUE to implement joint-courses in the fields of export marketing, materials sourcing, and electronic commerce.
These executive-level courses will support the SourceASEAN Full Service Alliance (SAFSA) program, launched in August 2009 by VALUE and AFTEX to position ASEAN’s textile and apparel industry as a global leader in the liberalized post-quota era.
ITC and USAID both believe in supporting regional cooperation in this important sector for ASEAN countries.
Ms. Patricia R. Francis, Executive Director, ITC
ITC’s courses delivered through the strategic framework provided by VALUE and AFTEX can make a valuable contribution to regional integration and the enhanced competitiveness of ASEAN’s textiles and apparel industry.
The VALUE Project has identified materials sourcing, export marketing, and e-commerce as important trade-related areas of knowledge that need to be strengthened in the ASEAN region.
Knowledge in these subjects is essential for textile mills and garment factories to develop markets and suppliers of material inputs sources both within the ASEAN and global marketplaces.
Education and training is a vital step toward competitiveness. I urge AFTEX members to embrace this opportunity.
Mr. Andrew Hong, Permanent Secretary General, AFTEX
VALUE will offer the first Training-of-Trainers course on Materal Sourcing in Jakarta, Indonesia from November 23 – 25, 2009. Professional trainers from Indonesian textile and apparel training institutions are expected to attend.
VALUE and AFTEX plan to offer their second regional ITC Material Sourcing course targeting training institutions in Singapore and Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur in early 2010.
The VALUE Project is delighted to offer ITC’s world-class training courses to ASEAN’s textiles & apparel industry.
Mr. R. J. Gurley, Chief-of-Party (Director), VALUE Project
