BGMEA leaders exchange views with Opposition leader
Leaders of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), the leading organisation of the country’s readymade garment industry, exchanged their views with Leader of the Opposition and Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Shafiqur Rahman.
The meeting took place on Wednesday evening at the Leader of the Opposition’s official residence on Minto Road in the capital.
Jamaat-e-Islami said in a press release after the meeting that the participants discussed the current production and export situation in the RMG industry, gas and electricity shortages, high interest rates on bank loans, the international trade situation and the challenges arising from Bangladesh’s graduation from the least developed country (LDC) category.
BGMEA leaders said around four million people and 3,000 entrepreneurs are directly involved in the sector. They expressed deep concern over disruptions to production caused by various factors, including gas and electricity shortages.
The entrepreneurs also highlighted to the Leader of the Opposition the potential to increase garment exports from their current level to US$100 billion in the future.
After the meeting, BGMEA President Mahmud Hasan Khan and Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Mia Golam Porwar briefed journalists.
Mahmud Hasan Khan said that they had raised various ongoing challenges facing the garment industry with the Leader of the Opposition.
He listened to the existing problems with sincerity and offered his advice. The entrepreneurs expect the Opposition to play a responsible role in overcoming the crisis.
Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Mia Golam Porwar said, “As part of the responsibility of the Opposition in the Jatiya Sangsad (national parliament), we invited the leaders of BGMEA, an important organisation representing the owners involved in the production and export of Bangladesh’s important readymade garment industry. The main objective of today’s exchange of views was to gain an understanding from them of the important contribution the readymade garment industry is making to the country’s economy, the problems the sector is currently facing, its areas of potential, and what initiatives need to be taken to resolve these problems.”
Mia Golam Porwar further said that the treasury bench (the government) and the Opposition should maintain the necessary cooperation in the national interest.
In particular, if necessary, Jamaat-e-Islami is prepared to provide the government with technical and policy support through its own experts to resolve the energy crisis.
He also reiterated his commitment to maintaining a positive role in Parliament while standing in support of the people’s legitimate demands on the streets.
Among the Jamaat leaders present at the exchange of views were Assistant Secretaries General Rafiqul Islam Khan, AHM Hamidur Rahman Azad and Ahsanul Mahboob Zubair; Central Executive Council members Saiful Alam Khan Milon, Mobarak Hossain, Nurul Islam Bulbul, Shafiqul Islam Masud and Muhammad Rezaul Karim; and Sramik Kalyan Federation President Atiqur Rahman.
In addition to the president, the BGMEA delegation included Senior Vice-President Inamul Haq Khan, Vice-Presidents Md Rezwan Selim, Mijanur Rahman, Vidiya Amrit Khan, Md Shehab Udduza Chowdhury and Mohammad Rafique Chowdhury, as well as chairmen of standing committees and directors.