Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) President Dr Rubana Huq today said foreign investment is needed for the development of backward linkage sector of country's readymade garments (RMG) industry. "Businessperson would have to leave this (RMG) sector if its global competition efficiency is not strengthened," she said while addressing a conference in the city on Saturday.
Mentioning that Bangladesh has already started losing denim market to Pakistan, the BGMEA president said, "We have to develop RMG's backward linkage to strengthen our footprint in this sector and that is why foreign investment is needed." Rubana Huq also laid emphasis on strengthening economic diplomacy to enter new markets.
Entrepreneurs Club of Dhaka School of Economics (DScE) organized the national conference titled "State of Economy in the Era of Fourth Industrial Revolution: Perspective Bangladesh" on DScE campus. Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) Chairman Dr Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad inaugurated the conference while Course Coordinator of DScE's Entrepreneurship Economics Professor Dr Muhammad Mahboob Ali chaired the seminar.
Dr Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad said that the DScE is offering different sorts of programmes in the arena of Economics out of which this year started 4 years Bachelor of Entrepreneurial economics programme to build entreprenurial ability and employability skills.
Bangladesh Bank's former executive director K M Jamsed Uz Zaman said nonperforming loans (NPLs) are increasing due to high interest rate of bank and the interest rate cannot be cut down for the inefficiency of banks.
Dr Muhammad Mahboob Ali said foreign investment has to be brought in country but the government should highlight specific directives regarding how the investors could take profit to their countries.
He also pointed out that for attaining economic diplomacy,embassies of Bangladesh in different countries should be worked under strict monitoring of their activities.Prof.Ali argued that to cope with 4IR ,Bangladesh open university must take a new module to teach labours on priliminary knowledge on IOT,robotics and AI.
Asif Ibrahim of Vice Chairman of Newage Group of Industries said that Bangladesh economy is progressing which needs more private investment share. Rupali Bank's former chairman Ahmed Al Kabir, former senior official at United Nations Dr Saidur Rahman Lasker, Dean of Science of the university of Liberal Arts Professor Dr Md Abdul Mottalib and DScE's assistant professors Rehana Parveen and Sarah Tasneem, among others, also spoke.
