Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali yesterday said the RMG industry and the government are determined to bring in changes whatever might be necessary for its further development, and sought support from foreign friends and partners.
“Some important constraints are there for which Bangladesh requires support from friends and partners,” he told a high-level conference on “RMG Industry and Beyond: Bangladesh - Framing the Future” arranged at the initiative of the Danish government at a city hotel.
Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed, Danish Minister for Trade and Development Cooperation Mogens Jensen, State Minister for Labour and Employment M Mujibul Haque Chunnu, BGMEA President M Atiqul Islam, Shirin Akhter, MP, business leader Syed Nasim Manzur, Roy Ramesh Chandra, ILO Country Director Srinivas B Reddy and Netherlands Ambassador in Dhaka Gerben Sjoerd de Jong, among others, spoke at various sessions of the conference.
The Foreign Minister mentioned that contemporary Bangladesh RMG and textile sector is in the throes of transformation. “In the process, our younger workforce has demonstrated their skills, adaptability and diligence. Our entrepreneurs has weathered challenges and ventured into new lands and areas.”
He said Bangladesh counts on support from its friends - at bilateral and global levels - towards a broader dialogue with all stakeholders within global supply chain(s). “As norms, practices or, guidelines are considered, Bangladesh would stress that those should be geared towards creating a truly level-playing field.”
While addressing another session, Tofail Ahmed sought help from the brands apart from an increase in product price.
Appreciating the progress in the RMG sector, he said there has been no accident in the last two years. “Workers are also happy with the working environment with increased wages. They’ve now more bargaining power.”
Mogens Jensen in his speech said there is undoubtedly progress but more needs to be done, and termed Rana Plaza disaster as “game changer.”
He hoped that the conference will inspire other industries in Bangladesh and its stakeholders to look at how they can take advantage of the lessons learned from the RMG sector.
On the sidelines, the visiting Danish Minister met Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali at the same venue.
He thanked the minister for his presence in the conference and said Denmark would like to expand the existing cooperative relations between the two countries.