BNP Secretary General Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan assured of his party's participation when Annisul Haque, president of the Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), along with his colleagues met the LGRD minister at his office in the morning.

"We agreed in principle to take part in the dialogue and try to find a way to end hartal culture," Bhuiyan told reporters after the meeting.

Hartal can not be banned by law but through consensus among the political parties, he observed.

BGMEA, desperate to get rid of the hartal fallout in the wake of quota-free regime challenges from next year, earlier obtained confirmation about the main opposition Awami League's participation in the dialogue, which was scheduled for July 14.

The date has been deferred to July 31 due to the delay in getting consent from the BNP, BGMEA sources said.

BGMEA is optimistic about clinching a commitment from the major political parties not to call hartal in at least a year for the sake of the country's largest foreign currency-earning sector.

"It's a tremendous boost for us. It is going to be a historic dialogue as both ruling and opposition parties will sit across the table to discuss a serious national issue," said Annisul Haque, coming out of the meeting.

Awami League President Sheikh Hasina earlier assured BGMEA leaders that her party would not call hartal if the ruling BNP makes similar commitment to hartal while in the opposition.

"The readymade garment buyers will start coming over in Bangladesh during September and October to place orders for the next season. They would get a wrong signal if hartal culture goes unabated," said the BGMEA boss.

During yesterday's meeting, Bhuiyan also felt the need to find an alternative to hartal as a political agitation. "We may take lesson from the political agitation in other countries to solve our problem."