Jewellery Expo kicks off in Dhaka

The maiden Jewellery Expo 2022 opened in Dhaka on Thursday to promote Bangladesh’s gold and jewellery.

Bangladesh Jeweller’s Association (BAJUS) organised the expo marking the birth anniversary of Bangladesh’s founding father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the golden jubilee of independence.

Current and former BAJUS leaders attended the opening ceremony of the three-day event at the International Convention City Bashundhara. East West Media Group Director and fiction writer Imdadul Haque Milon inaugurated the expo.

The fair will remain open from 10am to 8pm from March 17 to March 19.

Traders have set up more than 50 stalls displaying export quality gold and jewellery.

There will be 12 prizes worth Tk 25 lakh at the expo. The winner of the raffle draw for visitors will get Tk 10 lakh. The second winner will get Tk 5 lakh, and 10 others Tk 1 lakh each. There also will be a separate raffle draw for journalists.

“The dream of the jewellery businessmen is similar to Bangabandhu’s ‘Sonar Bangla’. Our Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also wants to build her country as ‘Sonar Bangla’,” Milon said at the inauguration.

“I think the people who’ve been involved in this profession for thousands of years are also golden. Our country has the potential to become ‘Sonar Bangla’ as dreamt by Bangabandhu,” he added.

Former BAJUS president Dilip Roy described the new leadership as “very inspirational”. Most recently, traders from district and upazila levels have gathered under the banner of BAJUS.

BAJUS General Secretary Dilip Kumar Agarwala said that they never thought the jewellery expo idea would be materialised.

“I believe that gold will become the second-largest export-oriented industry in Bangladesh after RMG,” he said.

Agarwala said BAJUS got its new leadership at a critical time. “A big investment has been made for the sector’s development, giving the country’s gold business an opportunity to transform into an industry,” he said.