Pay more for RMGs

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday urged the foreign buyers to increase the prices of Bangladeshi garment products, saying that this money would be spent for further welfare of the country's four million RMG workers.

The prime minister came up with the request when Dutch Ambassador to Bangladesh Gerben de Jong paid a farewell call on her at her office in the capital.

After the meeting, PM's Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim briefed reporters.

Hasina said her administration had increased the wages of the RMG workers over 200 percent in the last six years.

"Besides, we are setting up dormitories for the female garment workers," she said.

While talking about concern of different countries about Bangladesh's garment sector issue, the prime minister lauded the role of the Netherlands to this end. "The Netherlands never put pressure on Bangladesh in this regard," she said.

Pointing out women empowerment in Bangladesh, Hasina said job opportunity was being created for the females alongside their education.

"It was Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman who first introduced free girl education in the country," she said, paying rich tributes to the great leader.

Putting emphasis on increasing connectivity, Hasina mentioned her government's initiative for setting up Paira Port in Patuakhali.

"The Paira Port would help increase connectivity, and the neighbouring countries could use the Paira Port side by side with Chittagong and Mongla," she said. Expressing satisfaction over the existing friendly ties between Bangladesh and the Netherlands, the prime minister said the ties had reached to a new dimension during the tenure of the Dutch ambassador.

The Dutch envoy highly appreciated Bangladesh's tremendous development in RMG sector, saying that Bangladesh's target of earning US $50 billion from the sector by 2021 was possible.

Gerben expressed his country's eagerness to develop Bangladesh's ports. He also showed his country's interest in exchanging cooperation in the fields of agriculture, horticulture, livestock and land reclamation.

"There are many areas through which Bangladesh and the Netherlands could cooperate each other," he said.