Commerce Secretary Md Ataur Rahman Khan on Sunday stressed the need for stronger coordination, greater inter-agency cooperation and enhanced leadership skills among field-level team leaders to make the country's market monitoring system more effective, coordinated and technology-driven.

He made the remarks while presiding over a workshop titled "Capacity Building for Team Leaders Engaged in Market Monitoring" at the Ministry of Commerce conference room in Dhaka.

The commerce secretary said all agencies involved in market surveillance are working toward a common objective, adding that the main challenge lies not in capacity constraints but in ensuring effective coordination, mutual cooperation and prompt decision-making at the field level.

He said market monitoring activities are carried out by the Ministry of Commerce and its subordinate agency the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection.

Several other government ministries, departments and agencies are also involved, making market oversight a shared responsibility, he said.

He said the effectiveness of the system depends on rapid field-level response, coordinated operations and responsible execution of assigned duties.

Addressing the team leaders, the commerce secretary said leadership must be efficient, timely and result-oriented, urging them to resolve any coordination gaps quickly to ensure smooth implementation of market monitoring activities.

The secretary said the ministry would soon develop a Power App, introduce an AI-based model for the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB), and further upgrade the existing market monitoring application in line with the minister's directives.

He said these initiatives are expected to make field-level market surveillance more efficient and data-driven.

Additional Secretary (IIT) of the Ministry of Commerce Shibir Bichitra Barua and Acting Director General of the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection Sebastian Rema attended the workshop as special guests, along with senior officials from the ministry and the directorate.