Brussels happy with RMG reforms

Brussels expressed satisfaction at the progress of the apparel sector in Bangladesh and said the Belgium companies have their share of responsibilities in ensuring safety and labour rights.
“We are pleased to follow the progress with reforms in the RMG sector in Bangladesh. We believe that our companies also have their share of responsibilities in ensuring safety and labour rights, and we shall continue to work towards holding them accountable,” said Didier Reynders, foreign minister and deputy prime minister of Belgium.
He was speaking at a meeting with Bangladesh Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali in Brussels on Monday.
Ali urged Belgium to further diversify its imports and source pharmaceuticals, ships and IT-enabled services from Bangladesh, the foreign ministry said in a statement.
In response, the Belgian foreign minister confirmed his government's readiness to explore these areas and underscored the importance of sending more visiting trade missions from Belgium to Bangladesh.
He also suggested sending a delegation of Bangladesh businesspeople from some selected priority sectors to Belgium to hold consultations with their relevant Belgian counterparts.
Reynders made reference to Bangladesh's growing economy and expressed interest in enhanced Belgian investments in promising sectors, such as infrastructure development, logistics, renewable energy, waste management and healthcare.
The two ministers expressed satisfaction at expanding trade relations between the countries and discussed facilitating long-term visas for Bangladesh nationals, especially students, to visit Belgium.
Ali briefed his Belgian counterpart on the post-election political situation in Bangladesh and the rationale and objectives of the ongoing trials of crimes against humanity.
In addition, Ali addressed a gathering of diplomats, academics, human rights and workers' rights activists and Bangladesh diaspora at the European Institute of Asian Studies based in Brussels.
Under the theme of 'Bangladesh's Journey towards Peace, Justice and Development', he briefed his audience on the reforms undertaken in the garment sector, the political situation before and after the national elections and the background and evolution of the ongoing ICT-BD trials.
Ali was on a three-day visit to Brussels to attend the Conference on Prevention of Genocides, organised by the Belgian government. He returns home today.