Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed has urged US Congressman Steve Chabot to support Bangladesh's call for restoration of trade benefits for exports to the US market. Ahmed, currently on a visit to the United States, made the appeal during his meeting with Chabot, who also chairs the US Congress Sub Committee on Asia and the Pacific, in Washington DC on Friday. Chabot said he would keep discussing the issue with his colleagues in the US Congress, Ahmed said in a statement.
Ahmed also met a panel of members of the Congress: Joseph Crowley, also co-chair of the Bangladesh Caucus, Eliot L Engel, Grace Meng, George Miller and Jan Schakowsky. Briefing the panel on worker rights and safety in Bangladesh, the minister said Bangladesh has been successfully implementing the commitments made and suggestions elaborated by the ILO, Alliance, Accord and other development partners and has made substantial progress in the last one and a half years in safety standards. With remarkable economic growth, foreign currency reserves and rising export volumes along with increasing product and destination diversity, Bangladesh is set to become a middle-income country by 2021, he said.
Responding to Chabot's question regarding the January 5 election, Ahmed said it was a constitutional obligation for the government to hold the polls in time to ensure the smooth transition of democratic process. Despite repeated efforts by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the opposition political parties boycotted the election jeopardising the political stability, Ahmed said. Later, the minister met a panel of five democrat congressmen that have shown serious interest in Bangladesh's garment industry.
He briefed them on social and economic growth, export volume, export diversifications, prospective garment industrial park, raising wages and comprehensive action plan on the workers' rights and safety in Bangladesh's RMG sector. Ahmed also exchanged views with major retailers of the US at a meeting in New York yesterday, followed by his meeting with the editorial board of the New York Times at its office.
Source :: The Daily Star
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