Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today (February 14, 2023) said that despite being an environment-friendly agricultural product, jute did not get the expected attention and incentives like the RMG (readymade garments) industry of the country.
“The way we give incentives to garment industries… being an agricultural product, jute is not getting that opportunity. Jute urgently needs that scope. I have already given my directives in that regard,” she said.
The Prime Minister said this while addressing a programme marking National Textiles Day and inaugurated six new textile engineering colleges.
The programme was held at Bangabandhu International Conference Center (BICC), while the PM joined virtually from her official residence Ganabhaban.
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The theme of National Textiles Day is ‘Let’s use local textile products, build golden Bangla’.
Sheikh Hasina said that once upon a time, jute brought foreign currencies for the country and now that scope has emerged again as climate change has made people acutely conscious about the environment.
“Jute is an environment-friendly product. It is possible to produce numerous products from jute,” she said.
She also said that researchers of the country are working hard on this and have been able to invent various types of products.
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“We should put more importance on jute” she said.
The Prime Minister said that along with traditional items, new creative ideas are needed for better outcome.
She called on RMG entrepreneurs to look for and identify new markets around the world, alongside producing new variations of products.
“We do not want to remain import-dependent, we want to export more,” she said.
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In this connection, she said that ICT is playing a big role.
She put emphasis on value-addition to the export items of the country, so that those can bring in more foreign curreny for the country.
Sheikh Hasina said that this is the "digital era" and Bangladesh has become digital.
"If we look at industrial revolutions around the world, we will see one after another concept coming out. Now, the fourth industrial revolution is underway where digital devices will be used the most," she added.
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For that, she said the government has taken steps to develop human resources in Bangladesh as worthy manpower ready for that industrial revolution.
In this regard, she said that the government has undertaken steps to provide technical training in every upazila.
“Creating skilled manpower is our main goal; in Bangladesh the youths are quite bright,” she said.
Textiles and Jute Minister Golam Dastagir Gazi, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) acting president Md. Shahidullah Azim, and Textiles and Jute Secretary Md. Abdur Rauf also spoke at the event.
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A documentary was also screened at the programme.
Textiles and Jute Minister Golam Dastagir Gazi, on behalf of the Prime Minister, handed over honorary commemorative to ten institutions and organisations for their contribution in development of the textile sector.
Textiles and Jute Ministry established six new textile engineering colleges in different districts across the country.
The colleges are: Sheikh Rehana Textile Engineering College in Gopalganj, Shaheed Abdur Rob Serniabat Textile Institute at Gournadi of Barishal, Shaheed Kamaruzzaman Textile Institute in Naogaon, Begum Amina Mansoor Textile Engineering Institute in Sirajganj, Bhola Textile Institute in Bhola, and Sheikh Russel Textile Institute in Jamalpur.
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Currently, there are six government textile engineering colleges located in Chattogram, Pabna, Noakhali, Jhenaidah, Barishal, and Rangpur. These are affiliated with the Bangladesh Textile University and managed by the Directorate of Textiles under the Ministry of Textiles and Jute.