BGMEA urges closure of all garment factories on Wednesday

The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association has urged garment owners to keep all garment factories across the country closed on Wednesday following the death of former prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia,.

In a letter sent to factory owners on Tuesday, the association made the request.

The BGMEA said the government has declared three days of state mourning and one day of general holiday over the death of three-time former prime minister and BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia. Expressing agreement with the government’s decision, the BGMEA specially requested its member garment factories to observe a one-day general holiday on Wednesday, December 31.

Meanwhile, the BGMEA has expressed deep sorrow at her death. In a condolence message sent on Tuesday, BGMEA president Mahmud Hasan Khan said the entire garment industry family was deeply saddened by the passing of Begum Khaleda Zia. He said the nation has lost a guardian and a timeless patriotic leader, and this irreparable loss in national life can never be filled.

He added that her sincerity and timely, courageous decisions in promoting the global expansion of the ready-made garment industry would remain milestones in the sector’s progress. Her economic vision and dynamic life will remain indelible in the history of the country’s industry and trade.

The statement said Begum Khaleda Zia played a pioneering role in placing Bangladesh’s economy on a strong foundation and paving the way for modern industrialisation. Under her government’s firm leadership in the early 1990s, Bangladesh fully embarked on a free-market economy, opening vast opportunities for private sector growth.