RMG buyers response is heartening
Given what has happened in Gulshan on 1/7, now our businessmen and the government will have to run an extra mile to ensure that our foreign partners are provided with added safety
Besides the world leaders, now our foreign business counterparts, Alliance, a group of 28 fashion brands and retailers have assured Bangladesh of their continued support despite the recent terrorist attacks in Gulshan and other places. This collective support is significantly important for a country that is suffering from waves of terrorism. Among the murdered foreigners, there were foreign buyers too, and the fear was their deaths would negatively impact the RMG sectors global reputation besides decreasing the current volume of trade with other countries.
So the brands and retailers assurance also echoes the fact that the trust and confidence factor among our producers and foreign buyers are actually far much stronger. It would not be crumbled down by a few isolated terror attacks.
The reality, however, is that a big scale attack has occurred and some 20 lives were lost and in order to deter such attacks in the future our producers coupled with the law enforcement agencies will have to be extra vigilant while ensuring the buyers round the clock security and protection. Other countries, riddled with acts of terror and militancy, have rarely flourished in trade and commerce but the scenario in Bangladesh is completely different. The militant trend is an ill-omened development which has burgeoned only recently.
Besides the low labour cost, the RMG sector in Bangladesh has flourished because of our peoples positive characteristics such as ability to do work hard, skills, commitment and honesty. We need to protect our goodwill together with our local and foreign partners so that the industry thrives and remains intact in the face of militancy.
In the post-Rana plaza phase, our entrepreneurs and manufacturers have successfully proved how to progress and cement business ties, meeting necessary demands of safety and compliance. Markedly, proposed remediation and worker empowerment initiatives introduced after the Rana-plaza disaster have made our RMG industry much safer than it was three years ago. It is indeed a matter of pride that in times of such unanticipated distress that Alliance has sincerely followed and positively reported on the progress made in the sector recently.
However, given what has happened in Gulshan on 1/7, now our businessmen and the government will have to run an extra mile to ensure that our foreign partners are provided with added safety and security measure during their business trips and operations in here. We believe they will be triumphant and leave no stone unturned in this regard.
