President Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has lauded the textile industry’s substantial contribution to Bangladesh’s economy, job creation, and foreign-exchange earnings, pledging the sector’s full cooperation in overcoming domestic and global challenges and achieving sustainable growth.
Speaking at Bangabhaban on Monday (September 21), the president gave the assurance when a 22-member delegation of the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), led by its president Shawkat Aziz Russell, called on him. According to the president’s Press Wing, he stressed that practical and coordinated policy support would be indispensable if Bangladeshi textile enterprises were to remain competitive in global markets. Moreover, he urged BTMA leaders to articulate their concerns forcefully to the government’s policymakers.
Meanwhile, he identified the country’s energy shortage as one of the most pressing impediments to industrialization, adding that the government was pursuing concrete measures to address the power and fuel crisis amid continuing geopolitical instability. For its part, the BTMA delegation outlined the sector’s contribution to the national economy and briefed the president on its prevailing domestic and international challenges.
In particular, the representatives called for continued protection of local textile mills and urged the government to retain the National Board of Revenue’s decision to withdraw existing bond facilities for imports of 10- to 30-count cotton yarn and subsequently permit such imports against bank guarantees. Furthermore, President Fakhrul said Bangladesh had a historic opportunity to revitalize stagnant economic sectors under the current democratic government, and he called on business and industrial leaders to play a more effective, responsible, and dynamic role in that process.
