Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi today said that the government has taken special initiative to make the light engineering sector export-oriented since it is being considered as a very important and potential sector among the SMEs.
Mentioning that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has declared light engineering industry as ‘Product of the Year-2020’ or Year of the Product-2020, Commerce Minister said that there is huge potential for light engineering. There is a huge market in the country and huge demand for this product abroad. It is possible to export abroad by meeting the domestic demand.
Commerce Minister said if this industry is export oriented, many jobs will be created. To increase the number of export products of the country, a project called Export Competitiveness for Jobs (EC4J) is being implemented with the assistance of the World Bank to enable the export sectors of light engineering, ICT, plastics, agriculture and leather.
The government wants to move ahead in a planned manner with the advice of entrepreneurs in this sector. In line with the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the formulation of light engineering industry development policies is failing. Therefore, the cooperation and initiative of the businessmen in this sector is needed, he said.
He also said that there is a huge opportunity for employment in the light engineering sector by creating a workforce with specific and effective skills. The export market will expand as a result of production of new products and diversification of products. Everyone involved in this industry must come forward.
Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce Tapan Kanti Ghosh, President of FBCCI Md. Jasim Uddin, Additional Secretary (Exports) and EC4J Project Director, Md. Hafizur Rahman.
