bdnews24.com :
Bangladesh may lose its apparel market if accidents like the Tazreen Fashions fire and Rana Plaza building collapse were to happen again, US Ambassador Dan Mozena has warned.
The Rana Plaza collapse had killed 1,131 people at Savar on April 24 last year, while the Tazreen Fashions blaze had burnt 110 people to death at Ashulia – both on the outskirts of Dhaka City – on Nov 24, 2012.
Readymade garment factories may have to shut down if security and international wage standards were not maintained, he said at a press conference in Barisal City on Friday.
The US ambassador had gone on a five-day tour of Barisal on Monday.
Describing Bangladesh as a country with a lot of promise, he said it had fertile land and plenty of water and people here were active and hardworking.
He said the country provided manpower more skilled than any nation did. “It will soon surface as an emerging tiger.”
About Barisal, he said people here were quite skilled in fish farming and agriculture. They were always prepared to help themselves, he added.
The US envoy said they had been monitoring the Upazila elections closely and would send a report after the polls were over.
USAID Mission Director in Bangladesh Janina Jaruzelski, Political Advisor at the US embassy Firoz Ahmed, Barisal Deputy Commissioner Md Shahidul Alam, among others, were present at the press conference.
The USAID Mission Director hoped that Bangladesh, which was given around $200 million as development aid last year, would get a similar sum this year.
In Barisal, he visited Bhola, Patuakhali, Barguna, Pirojpur and Jhalakathi.
