BGMEA optimistic about continued support of International Finance Corporation 

Faruque Hassan, president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has expressed optimism that the collaboration between the RMG sector of Bangladesh and International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, will continue for the sector's development.

The BGMEA chief also thanked the IFC for its continued support to the RMG industry in the past few decades, particularly the "Partnership for Cleaner Textile: PaCT" program when the PaCT Program Manager Nishat Chowdhury, paid a visit to him at the former's office in Dhaka yesterday.

BGMEA Vice President Shahidullah Azim, Directors Asif Ashraf, Barrister Vidiya Amrit Khan and Nishat Nahrin Hamid, Consultant – Resource Efficiency, Bangladesh PaCT were also present at the meeting, read a press release.

They had discussions about the activities and progress of the ongoing projects which are being implemented by BGMEA with the financial support of IFC for the development of the RMG industry.

They expressed high optimism about continued collaboration in supporting the RMG industry of Bangladesh in the areas of sustainability and capacity enhancement to enable the sector to meet future challenges and realise untapped opportunities, added the release.

They also talked about how IFC could support the Center of Innovation, Efficiency and OSH established by BGMEA to develop the capacity of the industry and enhance its competitiveness in the global market.

The "Partnership for Cleaner Textile: PaCT" program has been supporting participating factories in reducing the carbon footprint and water footprint.

IFC has already funded several studies for the RMG sector to explore its opportunities and ways to realise them.

One of the studies aims to identify potential scope of non-cotton textile and apparel for Bangladesh in the global apparel market and formulate a strategy to develop the country's overall competitiveness and strength in the area. 

Another study is being conducted on the RMG sector's recovery roadmap.