Despite serious challenges, Bangladesh wants to keep its market share in the global apparel market unhurt and give it a further boost by showcasing its innovations and strengths through "Made in Bangladesh Week 2022" that begins in Dhaka on Sunday.
"We all know the situation of the global economy, but we have to do our work. We can't control the global economy. We even want to increase our market share while keeping the current export unhurt," said Faruque Hassan, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).
Responding to questions at a "meet the press" event held at a city hotel on Saturday afternoon, he said their intention is to work together with all stakeholders, including buyers and brands, and hoped that they would grow by overcoming those challenges - domestic and global.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the "Made in Bangladesh Week 2022" on Sunday morning, according to UNB.
The week-long event will be inaugurated at the Hall of Fame of Bangabandhu International Conference Center (BICC).
With the theme "Care for Fashion", the week-long event "Made in Bangladesh Week 2022" will continue until November 18, 2022.
"We want to brand Bangladesh. We want to showcase our capabilities and the new innovations that we have developed in our factories. We want to showcase what we are doing and what we have done in the past several years," he said.
The BGMEA chief said they are expecting quite a large number of their partners - brands, suppliers, development partners and others to see for themselves what Bangladesh is doing.
After the grand opening, a display zone at the Carnival Hall, titled "Experience the Transformation of RMG towards Sustainability & Innovation", will remain open till 6 pm, said the BGMEA chief.
The Prime Minister will also launch two coffee table books, on which the BGMEA has been working since the beginning of this year.
The first book, titled "The Untold Stories of Bangladesh RMG Industry: Economic, Social and Environmental Good Practices," aims to highlight the positive changes that have occurred in the industry throughout the years.
The second book is titled "Beauty of Bangladesh" through which BGMEA tried to articulate the unseen beauty of Bangladesh.
Apart from these two books, BGMEA will launch two other coffee table books after the events. One will be titled "Heritage of Bangladesh" and another will be prepared by compiling all the pictures received for the MIB photography award.
"Made in Bangladesh Week 2022" is not our personal event. We are not organising this to Brand BGMEA, rather the whole industry and Bangladesh. We will call ourselves successful if we can do that. And we need all of you with us to pull this off," said the BGMEA President.
He said they are in discussion with the government to address the energy supply challenges. "We hope we will be able to address the gas and electricity-related challenges."
The BGMEA chief said they do not want to create panic among the buyers by talking much about the internal challenges as discussion is underway to resolve those challenges.
"We've had challenges. We have challenges. We need to move ahead and overcome the challenges," he said.
He also said there will be no pressure on the forex reserves due to the mega event, but the event will help earn some foreign currency as many foreigners will be attending it.
The mega event has in fact started on Saturday morning with a golf tournament at Kurmitola Golf Club, said the BGMEA President.
People from home and abroad, especially international buyers and associates, joined the tournament.