Page 66 - New Cloth Market December 2022 Digital Edition

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS PAGES

resilience of the RMG industry and
stressed the importance of innovative
endeavors such as the TTBC which
will contribute to making the industry
competitive and sustainable in the
post-LDC era.
Ambassador of Denmark to Bang-
ladesh Winne Estrup Petersen said that
sustainability must be in the DNA of
any successful business, and highlight-
ed the role the public sector will play
in the transformation from aid depen-
dency to increasing trade.
competitiveness and creating decent employments, said Faruque Hassan, Pres-
IFC Country Manager for Bangladesh, ident of BGMEA.
Bhutan and Nepal Martin Holtmann
"Technological innovations are imperative not only to enhance competitiveness
appreciated the role BGMEA plays in
but also to make business sustainable," he said.
the RMG industry as a spearhead. He
highlighted the importance of produc- He came up with the observations while addressing a session of the Leader-
ing high-value products for the sus- ship Summit hosted by the Indian Ocean Rim Business Forum in Dhaka on
tained competitiveness of the RMG November 21.
industry.
Education Minister Dipu Moni, MP attended the event as chief guest while
TTBC is established to address the Private Industry and Investment Adviser to the Honorable Prime Minister Sal-
critical need for a credible knowledge man Fazlur Rahman, MP, and State Minister for Disaster Management and
center for the textile industry in asso- Relief Dr. Md. Enamur Rahman, MP were present as special guests.
ciation with IFC’s Partnership for
Sheikh Fazle Fahim, Chair of Indian Ocean Rim Business Forum was also
Cleaner Textile (PaCT II) program, sup-
present.
ported by the government of Denmark
through the Danish International Devel- In his speech Faruque Hassan said sustainability and digitalization are inter-
opment Agency (DANIDA) and the linked and greatly complements each other. Smart supply chain management
Embassy of the Kingdom of the Neth- is a great way to become resource efficient, environment friendly, cost compet-
erlands in Bangladesh. itive in the long run and sustainable, he added.
The launch of the TTBC in BGMEA’s “Without use of technologies, optimum use of water, energy and other resourc-
high-tech Innovation Center will open es cannot be ensured. Therefore, we need to inspire the use of fourth genera-
possibilities for expanding its research tion technologies in our supply chain,” he also said.
and training offerings to include re-
source efficiency consulting services “As much as we are saying automation is important, we are equally concerned
and lay the groundwork for continued about jobs and livelihoods. If efficiency and competitiveness can be enhanced,
operations of the center beyond the end it will certainly generate more business, which would require more employment
of the PACT program. in labor-intensive manufacturing,” the BGMEA President remarked.
PaCT program manager, Ms. Nishat Ichiguchi Tomohide, chief representative of JICA Bangladesh; Young-ah Doh,
Shahid Chowdhury was also present Country Director, KOICA Bangladesh; Habibullah N Karim, Founder and CEO,
at the event along with representatives Technohaven; Sonia Bashir Kabir, Managing Director, SBK Ventures; Anil Sooklal,
from the embassies of the Netherlands Ambassador at Large, Asia and BRICS, South Africa; and Nokuthula Nokky
and Denmark, as well as representa- Ndlovu, Managing Director, Projectized Management also spoke at the session
tives from BGMEA and IFC. as panelists, which was moderated by Dr. Syed Ferhat Anwar, Professor, Uni-
versity of Dhaka.
Technological innovations im-
The Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) is an inter-governmental organisa-
perative for competitiveness and tion aimed at strengthening regional cooperation and sustainable development
sustainability: BGMEA within the Indian Ocean region through its 23 Member States and 10 Dialogue
Partners. The IORBF is a Functional Body of IORA. It convenes business rep-
Technology will be a crucial part for the resentatives from IORA Member States and Dialogue Partners to advise IORA
next stage of industrialization in Bang- Ministers and Officials on business issues and ways to accelerate intra-region-
ladesh with regard to sustainability, al trade and increase investment flows in the region.

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