Purbachal, 22 January 2026 - Bangladesh must accelerate export diversification and strengthen competitiveness to reduce overdependence on ready-made garments and expand its footprint in global markets, Commerce Adviser Sk Bashir Uddin said while speaking as chief guest at a policy seminar at the Bangladesh–China Friendship Exhibition Center (BCFEC) in Purbachal. 

The seminar titled “Role of Competitiveness for Jobs Project on Export Diversification in Bangladesh” was held as part of the 30th Dhaka International Trade Fair (DITF) and convened policymakers, exporters, development partners, and private-sector representatives to discuss how Bangladesh can broaden its export basket through productivity, market access, and investment-focused reforms. 

Mr. Md. Abdur Rahim Khan, Additional Secretary (Export) and Project Director of the EC4J Project, delivered the welcome address and moderated the session. Mr. Bijon Islam, CEO of LightCastle Partners, presented the keynote paper.

Key message from the Commerce Adviser

In his speech, Sk Bashir Uddin emphasized that diversification is both a policy agenda and a capability agenda. He called for practical policy support alongside capable entrepreneurship and sustained capacity building so that firms can meet buyer requirements and compete consistently in export markets.

He also highlighted the government’s intent to reduce excessive reliance on RMG by promoting higher-potential export sectors, while keeping reforms anchored in evidence and informed consultation with businesses and stakeholders.

Why export diversification is imperative

Discussions at the seminar underscored that diversification has become urgent for three structural reasons:

• Risk management: concentration in a narrow set of products and markets increases vulnerability to demand shocks, price shifts and compliance disruptions.

• Competitiveness upgrading: entering and sustaining non-traditional exports requires higher productivity, stronger quality systems, standards compliance and reliable delivery performance.

• Jobs and value addition: new sectors can deepen domestic supply chains, encourage technology adoption and generate more diversified employment opportunities.

EC4J’s role in strengthening export competitiveness

The Export Competitiveness for Jobs (EC4J) project is a joint initiative of the Government of Bangladesh and the World Bank, implemented between July 2017 and June 2025. The project aims to diversify export products, strengthen enterprise competitiveness and expand access to international markets.

At the seminar, the Commerce Adviser noted that reforms and investments are being undertaken through EC4J to support the government’s export target of USD 100 billion by 2030, emphasizing the need for pragmatic implementation and continuous upgrading of firm capability.

Priority sectors supported beyond RMG

EC4J has focused support on four priority sectors outside the RMG industry:

• Leather and leather products

• Footwear

• Light engineering

• Plastics

Support measures discussed include technology and standards-related infrastructure, matching grants and market linkage initiatives designed to improve firm readiness and buyer access across these sectors.

Stakeholder participation

The seminar brought together senior representatives and speakers from the Ministry of Commerce, Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), UNDP Bangladesh, Policy Exchange Bangladesh and the World Bank, reflecting a multi-stakeholder perspective on export reform and competitiveness.

Looking ahead

With EC4J’s first phase ending in June 2025, speakers said the next step is to build on what has already worked - scaling ERF-style matching grants (Tk 128 crore to 106 factories) to help more firms upgrade export capacity and compliance, expanding structured market-linkage support (trade fairs and MBX) to secure repeat orders, and strengthening digital B2B channels like exportbangladesh.org so buyer connections translate into sustained exports from non-traditional sectors.