A delegation of BGMEA headed by President Faruque Hassan met with Ms. Ania Canavan, Economic Unit Chief, State Department Office of Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Maldives, and Bhutan Affairs at a hotel in Dhaka on December 5.

The delegation included Vice President Md. Nasir Uddin, Vice President Miran Ali, Directors Asif Ashraf, Abdullah Hil Rakib and Haroon Ar Rashid.

Scott Brandon, Political and Economic Counselor at U.S. Embassy in Dhaka; Matthew Beh, First Secretary, Political/Labor, U.S. Embassy Dhaka; Kaitlyn Denzler, Crisis, Stabilization, and Governance Foreign Service Officer, USAID Mission in Bangladesh; and Md. Saifuzzaman Mehrab, Labor Specialist, U.S. Embassy Dhaka were also present at the meeting.

They had discussions about various issues relevant to Bangladesh’s RMG industry including its current challenges, prospects, and preparedness to pursue the next level of development and growth. 

The discussion also encompassed the industry’s efforts and initiatives to carry forward the achievements made in workplace safety, environmental sustainability, workers’ rights and well-being.

BGMEA President Faruque Hassan appraised Ms. Ania Canavan about the apparel industry’s exemplary strides in the area of environmental sustainability, saying Bangladesh has the highest number of green garment factories in the world.

He also briefed her about the progress made by Bangladesh in terms of improving trade union activities, workplace safety, wages, skills development and labor welfare.

In the meeting, Faruque Hassan gave an overview of the priorities of the RMG industry to strengthen Bangladesh’s position as a safe, sustainable and reliable apparel sourcing destination.