The UK Minister for International Development, Alan Duncan, has categorically said it would be a disaster for Bangladesh if products from the country are banned.
Banning would be utterly irresponsible, Duncan said at a press briefing Wednesday, at the end of his three-day visit to Dhaka.
Some European lawmakers have recently called to ban products from Bangladesh following the Rana Plaza incident.
“The RMG sector employs four million people, and 80% of them are women. And if you go backwards, that would be a disaster for some of the poorest people of the country. The country will go backward. So to say – ban Bangladeshi products – is, in my view, a crazy and irresponsible thing to say,” he said.
The British government would support a programme to train 100,000 low-skilled garment and construction workers, improving overall productivity and helping to produce higher-value products, the minister said.
“The Rana Plaza factory collapse was devastating in its scale, and along with factory fires, must be taken as a wake-up call for all of us,” he said.
Safety standards must be made to catch up with the rapid growth in the garment sector, which has been built from nothing in the past 30 years, Duncan said.
“It now needs to be turned into a long-term development success, which means that urgent action is needed across the sector,” he said.
On general elections in Bangladesh, Duncan said time is running out to create an enabling environment to hold free, fair and credible polls, and the nation would be under global scrutiny.
“Bangladesh needs free, fair and respected elections. The time limit is obviously approaching by which time the elections need to be held,” he said.
“It is essential they [elections] are conducted without violence, and I say this very, very firmly, the world will be watching.”
The minister also urged all parties to refrain from violence or excessive use of force, and called on them to recognise the social and economic impact of strikes and other forms of disruption, which are damaging to individuals, businesses and the country as a whole.
“There are, of course, a few uncertainties on how the rules will be applied. But I do hope there will be sufficient agreement between the parties to agree on the rules of the game, so that the election can be conducted.”
About the dialogue between the two major parties, he said the situation was a difficult one.
“We have two party leaders who contest each other very, very vigorously. So, the dialogue is not easy when you are always in political combat.
“I hope all sides will resolve their differences through meaningful dialogue. It is critically important for Bangladesh’s reputation that the parliamentary elections are judged to be free, fair, and credible.”
He termed democracy as a game of football, where rules are set that everybody agrees on, and then all go on to play the game very hard.
“You got to have fair rules. We want everyone to agree on the rules, make the constitution work and have elections which everybody respects,” he said.
The country’s reputation suffers when parliament becomes ineffective, Duncan said.
“If you have a democratic system, you need to have a working parliament within it, to go along with free and fair elections.”
The British government, if requested, would help Bangladesh, the UK minister said.
Duncan came to Dhaka on Monday and met with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, leader of the opposition Khaleda Zia and foreign minister Dipu Moni.
It was Duncan’s third trip to Bangladesh, following visits in July 2010 and June 2011.