State Minister for Textiles and Jute Mirza Azam Tuesday invited textile sector businessmen to come to his ministry to resolve problems if any. Textile manufacturers and exporters do not come to his ministry, he said. “You don’t come to me, you don’t come to the textile ministry; come to us with any demand or problem formally, I will try my best to resolve it,” he added. As some of textile manufacturers demanded not increasing gas price again otherwise the sector will hit very hard and cannot cope with anymore, Mr Azam urged textile makers to come with written demand for halting the move to hike gas prices further and said he would pursue it to the government’s high up for solution. “If there is no rationale behind increasing gas price again, the price will not be increased for the textile sector,” he said. He was speaking as the chief guest at a networking dinner organised by India International Textile Machinery Exhibition 2016 at a city hotel. Chaired by India ITME 2016 Chairman Sanjiv Lathia, the programme was also addressed by Senior Vice President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Faruque Hassan, Vice President of Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) Fazlul Haque, Deputy High Commissioner of Indian High Commission in Dhaka Adarsh Swaika, Vice Chancellor of Bangladesh University of Textile Masud Ahmed. Mirza Azam urged textile manufacturers and exporters to participate in the fair to be held in Mumbai. The 10th edition of India International Textile Machinery Exhibition 2016, the largest textile machinery and accessory exhibition in India, will be held from December 3 to December 8, 2016 at Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai. Spread over 150,000 sq. metres, with expected participation from 93 countries and strength of about 1,000 exhibitors from across the globe in 17 chapters spanning the textile segment from raw materials to finished products, India ITME 2016 is the key event for the textile and textile engineering industry in India and in the neighbouring region. Adarsh Swaika thanked the organisers for coming to Bangladesh and said Bangladesh is the best place to organise such a networking programme. As the BGMEA and the BTMA leaders alleged that despite being the largest exporter of cotton to Bangladesh, India is not behaving properly. In response, Mr Swaika said Bangladeshi exporters are also doing the same with jute exports to India. He urged both sides to resolve the problem amicably between the two friendly nations.
