Saturday, April 20, 2024
Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun on Saturday said the government is committed to ensuring business-friendly atmospheres as it has been working to generate more employment opportunities through industrialisation.
He urged entrepreneurs to invest more in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) compared to heavy industries because SMEs are more labour-intensive than heavy ones.
The minister made the observation while exchanging views with businessmen, political leaders and other stakeholders related to ensuring a business-friendly atmosphere at the Circuit House conference hall in Rajshahi as the chief guest.
Rajshahi City Corporation Mayor AHM Khairuzzaman Liton, Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) Chairman Md Mahbubor Rahman, Rajshahi Divisional Commissioner GSM Jafarullah, Rajshahi Metropolitan Police (RMP) Commissioner Md Abu Kalam Siddique and Oikya Foundation Chairman Shaheen Akhter Rainy addressed the meeting as special guests with Deputy Commissioner Abdul Jalil in the chair.
BSCIC Regional Director Rezaul Alam Sarker welcomed the participants.
Minister Humayun said the government has created areas of confidence in terms of investment and called for more investment in the potential sectors, particularly tourism, silk, agro-processing and farm machinery, in the region.
He said that industrialisation is very important for generating employment opportunities coupled with bolstering the local and regional economy and attaining sustainable development goals.
"We are working relentlessly to encourage more investment through mitigating the existing problems being faced by the entrepreneurs," he added.
He categorically said no more industries will remain nonfunctional or sold out because the government is determined to make all the dysfunctional industries operational for the sake of creating more employment scopes, including for women for their empowerment.
He mentioned that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been giving painstaking efforts to this end.
The minister told the meeting that the government has decided to set up a modern leather processing industry on 124 acres of land in Rajshahi’s Belpukur area for expediting the business of finished leather products.
In his speech, Mayor Liton called for generating employment opportunities for the huge number of unemployed youths through promoting the business sector.
Taking part in open discussion, many of the attending entrepreneurs and business leaders unequivocally stressed the need for solving their existing problems to hasten their efforts of employment generation.
Later, the minister visited the BSCIC industrial units and talked to the individuals concerned.
