Underscoring the importance of the RMG industry, Chief Advisor’s Special Envoy Lutfey Siddiqi has expressed gratitude for the "constructive engagement and contribution" of the foreign buyers' community through a period of challenges and changes.

Siddiqi welcomed representatives of global brands and buyers of readymade garments to a dialogue at his office on Thursday.

He expressed cautious optimism over metrics such as export volumes, remittances and cargo handling that have defied expectations to show double-digit percentage growth versus the previous year.

Other factors such as law and order, labour relations and liquidity appear to be improving but continue to require close monitoring, he said.

Beyond that, structural constraints such as Bangladesh’s poor port infrastructure, lagging energy infrastructure and gaps in skills will take longer to resolve, but for which, the ongoing reforms in decision-making processes should enable relevant activities to progress faster than before.      

The buyers’ representatives pointed out that this is the first time they have had an opportunity to engage directly in this manner with a ministerial level official in Bangladesh.

They brought up weak brand protection, restrictive credit facilities for imports, and the lack of a dedicated green energy plan for garment sector as additional issues for the government to focus on.

They expressed full support for the government’s agenda around labour standards and rejected the suggestion that their pricing policies could stand in the way of better wages.

It was also mentioned that global brands with their own observations on the ground are well-placed to help narrate and project the true story of Bangladesh, as it is evolving right now, to the international audience, according to the Chief Adviser's press wing.

The Special Envoy thanked them for their support, especially on the backdrop of disinformation in certain arenas.

Among others who were present in the meeting were Ziaur Rahman of H&M and Javier Santonja of Inditex.