Bangladeshis Ambassador to Ethiopia has pointed out the labor intensive textile and garment industry sector as key in empowering women, by ensuring their financial liberty.
Ambassador Monirul Islam talked exclusively to ENA citing his country’s experience in the sector which employs about four million people, 90 per cent of whom are women.
Traditional jobs generate very minimum income and women can benefit a lot if they are provided with the opportunity to work in the garment sector, he urged.
“they (women) can have a good life if they can an opportunity of working in garment sector. So this is one thing which I recommend that Ethiopia can learn from Bangladesh how specially empower the women who has no job”,
Bangladesh is the second biggest textile and garment producer next to China with annual exports hitting about 30 billion USD.
“I think Ethiopia can learn from Bangladesh on how we have managed to get to this level of development in the garment sector,” suggested Ambassador Monirul.
Urging Ethiopia to draw lessons from his country’s experience in the sector, he added: “I think this should be followed very carefully by Ethiopia because Ethiopia and Bangladesh were at the same level of developing the sector years back.”
Bangladesh is interested to share its rich experience in the production of textile and garment to Ethiopia, the Ambassador assured.
The garment sector does not require higher education which renders itself as a better option for women, helping them to acquire the necessary skill in just few months training, according to Ambassador Monirul.
He also revealed a growing interest from his countrymen to invest in the garment sector in Ethiopia.
“Bangladeshis investors, especially they want to come to Ethiopia to invest in garment sector. They find Ethiopia a very good place, especially youth country with good number of people, hard working and everything is very good like environment is so nice, the climate is good, labor is easily trainable and electricity is available and road are also good.”
“Investors from my country would be pleased to invest in Ethiopia because the country has favorable conditions including hard working people, electricity and good road networks,” he said.
“I think many investors from Bangladesh are keen to invest in the sector. DBL, a garment manufacturing company has already started to set up its infrastructure for garment sector in Ethiopia.”
DBL is undertaking construction of infrastructure facility for garment in Mekelle with production expected by the middle of next year.
It was last March that Bangladesh opened its embassy in Ethiopia, considering the country’s strategic position and political significance, and the history of the two nations.
Source: http://www.ena.gov.et
