U.S. Ambassador to Bangladesh Dan W Mozena on Monday said that there was growing opinion among Americans that they would not buy shirts stained with the blood of Bangladeshi workers.
At the launching programme of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry Help Desk and US Products and Services Center at DCCI, the envoy said time has come to ensure that horrific disasters like that of Tazreen Fashions fire and the Rana Plaza building collapse would never be repeated in Bangladesh.
Mozena cited a recent conversation with an influential congressman who informed the envoy that ‘America will not buy shirts stained with the blood of Bangladeshi workers … that is my message’
‘All of us—owners, workers, government, buyers, international organisations, friends and partners of Bangladesh—must work together to ensure that the horrors never repeat. Indeed, working together, we can transform Bangladesh’s apparel sector,’ Mozena said.
Terming the factory disasters the result of greed, corruption and ignorance, the US ambassador said these two disasters snuffed out the lives of 1,243 innocent Bangladeshi women and men who had sought nothing more than to provide a decent living for themselves and their families.
‘I believe that these disasters will in fact bring about fundamental transformation of Bangladesh’s apparel sector,’ he added.
Mozena said that the tragedies of Tazreen Fashions and Rana Plaza will not fade and not be forgotten soon and the industry’s markets, sustainability and continued strong growth could again be at serious risk.
He urged the stakeholders in the apparel sector to decide how to deal with fundamental issues of workers’ rights to freely associate and organise, issues of fire safety and factory structural soundness.
The U.S. ambassador observed that the tragedies of Tazreen and Rana Plaza have generated unprecedented opportunity for transforming the apparel sector and stakeholders will seize this opportunity.
‘Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s many friends, including the U.S., Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and the UK, among others, are offering significant resources and technical assistance to help Bangladesh seize this opportunity to get it right on labour rights, fire safety, and factory structural soundness,’ Mozena said.
He suggested all the stakeholders to choose the path that makes Brand Bangladesh a mighty global brand, the best brand, the biggest brand, indeed, the brand of the world’s largest exporter of apparel replacing China.
The U.S. ambassador assured that he himself, his mission and U.S. government would do everything to help Bangladesh’s apparel sector in leading the way in Bangladesh’s becoming the next Asian Tiger.
Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Kazi Akramuddin Ahmed requested the U.S.
ambassador to help Bangladesh regain GSP facility in America.
He invited more American investment in Bangladesh and said that more than 500 American business units are operating their businesses in Bangladesh.
DCCI President Md Sabur Khan said that DCCI Help Desk and US Products and Services Center will boost the country’s trade and investment as well as attract foreign direct investment for the development of Bangladesh’s economy.
He informed that at least 10 entrepreneurs have already got their company registration services from DCCI Help Desk.
Registrar of Joint Stock Companies Bijon Kumar Baishya also spoke on the occasion.
-With New Age input
