He flies to Washington Thursday
In an effort to have the GSP facility restored for Bangladesh in the US market, Dhaka and Washington on Wednesday discussed the progress made in the readymade garment industry here, especially the safety and labour issues.
The meeting between Foreign Secretary M Shahidul Haque and US Ambassador in Dhaka Dan Mozena was held at the Foreign Secretary’s office.
Issues like improvement of working condition, inclusion of private sector in development plans and labour reform came up at the meeting for discussions, said an official.
The next GSP hearing is scheduled to be held in Washington by December next.
On July 19, the US government made an Action Plan public outlining measures to protect workers’ rights and address in a meaningful way the worker safety problems in factories to get suspended trade benefits under the GSP back.
On Sunday, foreign diplomats, including EU Ambassador to Bangladesh William Hanna and US Ambassador Mozena expressed satisfaction over the progress in improving working conditions for workers in the country’s readymade garment factories.
Meanwhile, the US envoy flies to Washington tomorrow (Thursday) to brief the top officials of the State Department over the outcome of his meetings with Indian government officials on Bangladesh’s political challenges ahead of its upcoming general election.
In his recent visit to New Delhi, Dan Mozena had talks with Indian foreign ministry officials, including Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh, on Bangladesh political challenges.
Source: UNB Connect