A delegation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) met with Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) President Mahmud Hasan Khan on Tuesday to discuss the current status, challenges, and future prospects of the country’s apparel industry—the backbone of Bangladesh’s economy.
The meeting took place at the BGMEA headquarters in Uttara, with BGMEA Senior Vice-President Enamul Haque Khan, Vice-Presidents Md. Rezoan Selim and Vidhya Amrit Khan, and Directors Nafis-ud-Dowla and Dr. Rashid Ahmed Hossaini in attendance. The IMF team included Senior Economists Qiaoe Chen and Ruifeng Zhang, and Economist Ayah Said.
According to a BGMEA press release, the IMF delegation’s visit was part of its assessment of Bangladesh’s macroeconomic stability, aiming to understand the garment sector’s performance, resilience, and associated risks amid global economic uncertainty.
During the meeting, both sides exchanged views on sustaining industrial growth and competitiveness against the backdrop of global volatility. Discussions covered a wide range of issues, including the impact of potential US tariffs, Bangladesh’s upcoming graduation from Least Developed Country (LDC) status, strategies for sustainable growth, product diversification, and the global economic outlook.
BGMEA leaders underscored the apparel sector’s vital role in Bangladesh’s economic stability and outlined their roadmap to transform the industry from a labor-intensive to a value-driven model. They emphasized ongoing initiatives in innovation, technological advancement, production of man-made fiber and technical textiles, and skills development for workers.
The two sides also discussed ways to reduce business costs and improve the ease of doing business. BGMEA leaders reiterated their policy recommendations to the government, including ensuring uninterrupted power and gas supply, enhancing port efficiency, simplifying customs and bond procedures, lowering lending rates to single digits, and accelerating key infrastructure projects such as the Dhaka-Chattogram highway.
In addition, BGMEA called for greater efforts to secure Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with major trading partners—including the European Union, United Kingdom, Japan, and Canada—to preserve tariff advantages following LDC graduation.
The IMF delegation praised the garment sector’s critical contribution to Bangladesh’s economic growth, export earnings, and employment, acknowledging its central role in maintaining the country’s macroeconomic resilience.