Officials of international apparel retailers have resumed their flights to Dhaka as the government beefed up security, exporters said. Many of the retailers had cancelled their planned trips to Bangladesh following the murder of two foreigners in September and early this month. “The retailers are now feeling confident about travelling to Bangladesh for factory visits. They are resuming their flights,” said Faruque Hassan, vice-president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association. “I hope the regular meeting of the buyers’ forum will take place next week as everybody is positive,” Hassan told The Daily Star by phone. The buyers’ forum is a platform for global apparel retailers. The meeting is expected to take place in Dhaka on November 3. Citing security reasons, many retailers postponed this month’s scheduled meeting with garment makers in Dhaka. Apart from garment exporters, representatives from nearly 65 to 70 international retailers, who account for about 90 percent of the country’s $25 billion worth of apparel exports a year, participate in the meeting. The retailers that participate in the meeting include Walmart, Gap, JC Penney, C&A, Tesco, G-Star, H&M, Target, Inditex and Carrefour. At the meeting, they mainly discuss their problems and find solutions. A Japanese national was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Rangpur on October 3, just five days after an Italian aid worker was murdered in the capital’s diplomatic zone. “The situation is now normal. Buyers have started coming and placing orders,” said Shahidullah Azim, managing director of Classic Group, a garment exporter based in Gazipur. After the deaths, the retailers had called the garment makers to hold meetings in Hong Kong, Dubai, China, India and Thailand.
