The Bangladesh Government Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has called upon Aldi, a Germany based international retailer, to source more diversified high-end garment products from the country.

President Faruque Hassan urged Aldi to strengthen its partnership with Bangladeshi suppliers in building their capacities in manufacturing apparel products that have greater demand in the international market.

He made the call when a delegation of Aldi paid a visit to him in Dhaka Wednesday.

The delegation included Denise Hochreiter-Hamberger, managing director for global sourcing, Anke Ehlers, managing director for corporate responsibility international, Katharina Wortmann, director of corporate responsibility international, SM Nurul Azam, director of corporate responsibility, Md Hasan-Uz-Zaman, senior manager, corporate responsibility, Aldi South Group.

BGMEA Vice-President Miran Ali and Director Abdullah Hil Rakib were also present.

During the meeting, Faruque said Bangladesh has earned global recognition and accolades as a safe, sustainable and ethical apparel sourcing hub.

To retain its fame and competitiveness, the apparel industry of the country has given priority to product diversification, especially to non-cotton and high-end product segments, and innovation in product development and process optimisation, he added.

The BGMEA president also requested the Aldi delegation to share encouraging stories of Bangladesh's garment industry with relevant international stakeholders.

Aldi, an international retailer with over 10,000 stores around the world, has long been sourcing garments from Bangladesh.