Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi on Sunday said the government has taken special initiatives to make the light engineering sector export-oriented.
Terming the sector as an important and potential for small and medium enterprises in the country, he put emphasis on increase of the number of export products, a project called Export Competitiveness for Jobs (EC4J) which is being implemented with the support from the World Bank to enable the export sectors of light engineering, ICT, plastics, agriculture and leather.
The minister made the remarks at a national-level consultative workshop titled "Formulation of Light Engineering Industry Development Policy" organised by the Business Promotion Council under the Ministry of Commerce and Bangladesh Engineering Industry Owners' Association (BEIOA) at the ministry conference room at the Bangladesh Secretariat in the capital.
Speaking as the chief guest at the function, the minister said the government is formulating the policy in line with the fourth industrial revolution.
If this industry is export-oriented, many jobs will be created, he insisted.
There are ample employment opportunities in this sector by creating a workforce with specific and effective skills, the minister said, adding that the export market will expand as a result of production of new products and diversification of products.
The year 2020 was declared as ‘Light Engineering Products Year’ by the Prime Minister to highlight special attention to this sector.
Commerce secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh, the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) president Md Jashim Uddin, and the BEIOA president Abdur Razzaque, among others, were present at the workshop.
