Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave his support to a Bangladesh proposal to invest 25 million US Dollar in selling Bangladeshi garments in India, the main business group there said.
In a meeting on Sunday, the federation of Bangladesh chamber of commerce and industry told Modi it was seeking 50 acre of land either free of cost or at a nominal price in Gujarat.
“We told him that we want to set up warehouses and retail shops, and for that we will invest 25 million US Dollar. The purpose is to sell and distribute our garments products directly,” Matlub Ahmed, president of the chamber said. “If we get this facility, then our sales will rise to 1 billion US Dollar from the present 300 million US Dollar in the next three years.”
After the meeting, Ahmed said Modi had promised “all cooperation and support” for the proposal. During his visit, Modi also promised to help to reduce India’s huge trade surplus with Bangladesh.
Bangladesh exports were worth 24 billion US Dollar in the fiscal year that ended in June 2014.
The textile industry is an important contributor to the economy, with duty-free access to Western markets having helped to make Bangladesh the world’s largest apparel exporter after China.
But the industry, which supplies many Western brands such as Wal-Mart, Tesco and H&M, has faced pressure after a string of fatal factory accidents, including a building collapse in 2013 that killed more than 1,130 people.
