The Bangladeshi economy has made remarkable progress over the last few decades, and a major portion of its success can, undoubtedly, be attributed to its RMG sector, which still stands as the most prominent export earning sector of the country.
But while the sector has proven to be a long-standing pillar in our efforts for development, in order to keep pace with global advancements, changes need to be made to how we approach and operate an already established industry.
It is encouraging, therefore, that these sentiments were echoed by the acting president of the BGMEA, Shahidullah Azim, who emphasized on the importance of creating a collaboration between industry and academia to further strengthen the future of the industry.
This is certainly true, as facilitating the scope for more knowledge and research on the matter would help train and equip future generations better to tackle the challenges the industry may face, and also to elevate the RMG sector to even greater heights.
There is no denying that, despite being a massive resource, the garments industry does indeed have some shortcomings that refrains it from becoming the best it could be. The collaboration with academia could identify these problem areas and the best possible solutions for them.
However, these changes to the system will not be possible without the extensive support from the government and relevant investors, who can help devise better policies and provide the funds needed to introduce better technologies and uplift the industry further.
While these initiatives are instrumental to the planning for the future of the industry, Bangladesh ultimately needs to diversify its export basket so as not to rely solely on one sector for its export earnings. The country has untapped potential that it could really benefit from if the focus is divided amongst all relevant sectors, which will also enable sustainable growth for the economy as a whole.