On 23 June 2026, BGMEA hosted a delegation from Marubeni Corporation, including Arif-uz-Zaman, M. Ijaz Ahmad Saadi, Md. Merajul Islam, and Manabu Sugawara, to establish an institutional partnership aimed at diversifying exports to Japan.
The BGMEA delegation, led by Mohammed Sohel and supported by Faisal Samad, Nafis-Ud-Doula, Kazi Sarwar Habib, and Ms. Tania Ahmed, focused on transitioning from transactional sourcing to a strategic roadmap centered on the “Model Factory Program”.
Arif-uz-Zaman emphasized that Bangladesh must transition beyond low-cost mass production by focusing on reliability, innovation, and functional fabric capabilities.
To strengthen trade trust, BGMEA has accepted the role of mediator for a new “Tri-Party Claim Recovery Window” to resolve trade grievances. Faisal Samad, Nafis-Ud-Doula, Kazi Sarwar Habib, and Ms. Tania Ahmed underscored the importance of leveraging the Economic Partnership Agreement and utilizing product-specific intelligence to ensure factories deliver targeted, commercial proposals.
Both parties agreed to an actionable roadmap, including Marubeni sharing its three-year sourcing plans and BGMEA facilitating a curated list of SME factories who can cater to the Japanese apparels demand.
