‘Explore new markets for apparel sector’

The foreign ministry has asked Bangladesh diplomats in Europe to explore new markets for the country's apparel sector, apart from maintaining the current market that has been affected amid coronavirus pandemic.

Following the pandemic, orders of readymade garments worth over $3 billion has been cancelled, which means joblessness of thousands of female workers. The US and Europe are the major importers of RMG that fetches annually $34 billion. The sector employs about 40 lakh workers, mostly women.

"Please work relentlessly to maintain the export earnings and explore new markets," Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen told the Bangladesh ambassadors in European countries in a videoconference, according to a foreign ministry statement yesterday.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam, Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen, BGMEA President Rubana Huq, Bangladesh ambassadors in the UK, Italy, France, Sweden, Belgium, Greece, Spain, Portugal, The Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and Austria attended the videoconference on Monday.

Momen said Bangladesh's RMG factories continued their production maintaining the safety regulations of the World Health Organization and International Labour Organization.

He said Bangladesh has been able to innovate quickly and manufacture huge amount of personal protection equipment. After meeting domestic demand, the country exported 65 lakh pieces of PPE to the US market, he added.

Besides, the minister said, Bangladesh is also producing and exporting drugs used in treatment of Covid-19 as the country over the years have developed its pharmaceutical industry.

The foreign minister instructed the ambassadors to apprise the Bangladeshi expatriates of the various incentives that the government declared in addressing the fallout of Covid-19. He alerted them to be cautious about any negative propaganda against the country.

He said the government has declared a $12.11 billion package to tackle the temporary strain that the country's economy is facing.