Visiting Director-General of the WTO Pascal Lamy yesterday identified Bangladesh’s Readymade Garments (RMG) and remittance as future growth drivers and said the two promising sectors are vital for the country’s economy.
“One might of course also cite micro-credit, but for me, two factors stand out: RMG and remittances,” Lamy said while delivering a lecture here.
Bangladesh Economic Association (BEA) arranged the Public Lecture at Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh (IEB).
President of BEA Professor Abul Barkat chaired the session while noted economist Prof Dr Quazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmed, financial experts from various research organisations and senior bankers joined the public lecture.
Lamy said the growth of the apparel sector has been critical, notably in its impact on women’s employments and income. The sector is also creating a similar number of jobs in complementary industries or services, he added.
Employment is lifting people out of poverty and income remitted by city garment workers is cushioning the vagaries of village.
Initially driven by low-cost labour, garment manufacturer has now moved up the value-chain. “One can imagine a similar growth trajectory for Bangladesh and one which inspires Bangladesh’s entrepreneurs to branch out of textiles and into the thrust sectors which the government believes hold promise for the Bangladeshi economy,” said the WTO DG.
He said remittances are remarkable tool for poverty alleviation, but their efficacy can also be enhanced. “Addressing the business climate and regulatory issues that hold back foreign direct investment in key sectors will improve the efficiency of remittance.”
Lamy, the fifth DG of the WTO, said Bangladesh should now look for emerging countries for export potential side by side with addressing infrastructure problems.
Infrastructure integration has become pertinent for concentrating in global economy, he said.
About South Asian trade, he said the region has low level of trade and integration compared to the globe and the SAARC countries need more financial mobilisation using donor agencies like Asian Development Bank (ADB) and World Bank (WB).
He stressed the need for continuing trade negotiation for LDC countries for a level playing field for expansion of trade and investment in the global trade regime