Shipping, Jute and Textiles Adviser Brig Gen (Retd) Dr. M Sakhawat Hussain today called upon the World Bank (WB) to invest in Bangladesh’s jute and textiles sectors and shipbuilding industry.
“Jute and shipbuilding are enormously potential sectors . . . more investment and research are needed to pull the sectors,” he said.
According to a ministry press statement, the adviser made the contact while WB Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan Abdoulaye Seck was seeing him at his Ministry of Jute and Textile office.
According to him, jute is in high demand both domestically and internationally, particularly for eco-friendly jute bags and geo-textile multipurpose jute goods, as an alternative to polythene and plastic.
According to Sakhawat Hussain, 25 government-owned jute and 25 textile mills were closed a few years ago, but with the assistance of both domestic and foreign investors, the mills are now privately managed.
Mentioning that the factories are strategically situated in locations very convenient for communication, he said that international investors can invest here very easily as textile and garment industries of Bangladesh are gradually improving.
Referring to the world famous muslin cloth, the adviser said that the muslin cloth of Bangladesh was once world-famous, and the government has already completed a project to bring back the lost glory of muslin.
“Through this project, the technology of producing yarn for waving muslin cloth has been invented and there are plans to start commercial production soon,” he added.
In order to strengthen the nation’s economy, he also underlined the need for more funding and research into the manufacturing of adaptable jute goods and textile products.
Sakhawat Hussain stated during the conference that the export of locally made ships is the primary reason shipbuilding has emerged as one of the promising businesses in recent years.
The World Bank’s country director congratulated the temporary government and said that Bangladesh would be interested in working with them on new projects in all sectors of the economy, including shipping, jute, and textiles.
During the meeting, the adviser evaluated the status of many development projects being carried out with the WB’s assistance and instructed the relevant officials to finish the ongoing projects on schedule.
Senior officials in question were in attendance, along with Md. Abdur Rauf, Secretary of Textiles and Jute, and Acting Secretary of Shipping, Sanjay Kumar Banik.
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