Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association president Faruque Hassan and vice-president Miran Ali met with Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production president and CEO Avedis Seferian in the US to discuss ways of collaboration and market expansion.

Hong Mei, senior director of compliance assurance at WRAP, and Srishti Sharma, director of compliance administration, were also present at the meeting held in Washington DC. Mark Jaeger, vicepresident of stakeholder engagement, Aimee Dobrzeniecki, vicepresident of administration, joined the discussion virtually.

The BGMEA president discussed matters related to the expansion of Bangladesh’s business interests in the Western hemisphere, particularly in North America.

Their talks also included ways of cooperation and future engagement between the BGMEA and WRAP for Bangladesh’s apparel industry.

They also held discussions on how more cooperative and coordinated efforts could be made to facilitate WRAP certification for garment factories in Bangladesh and enhance the reputation of the country as a safe and compliant source of apparel sourcing in the world.

During the meeting, BGMEA president Faruque Hassan highlighted the progress of Bangladesh’s garment industry in the areas of workplace safety, social and environmental sustainability.

The readymade garments (RMG) industry of Bangladesh has earned global recognition for its unprecedented strides over the years in safety, sustainability and social compliance, he said.

Faruque also sought the cooperation and support of Avedis in portraying a positive picture of the Bangladesh apparel industry internationally.