Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the 5th annual display of the apparel items in Dhaka Monday, which was organized by the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturer and Exporters Association (BKMEA).

    Speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the fair, Hasina said, "I hope the 5th exposition of the knitwear items will pave the way for broader exhibition of stylish and standard Bangladesh knitwear."

    She said, "The congregation of the local manufacturers and foreign buyers at the exposition would generate a viable and durable business environment that will be a welcome fillip for our economy."

    Hasina, however, asked the country's apparel factory owners to pay wages of workers properly in a bid to upgrade their living standards and hinted them to remain alert to thwart any unpleasant incident like workers' unrest in the sector due to conspiracy of vested interest groups.

    The BKMEA president Fazlul Hoque said one of the purposes of holding such an exhibition is to offset the bad impact of global economic downturn in the domestic apparel industry as the sector's export declined to some extent so far this year compared to last year.

    He said some 153 buyers and representatives from buying houses from a number of countries including Botswana, China, India, Japan, Pakistan, Russia, South Africa, the Netherlands, Thailand, Turkey and U.S. will attend the fair.

    Hoque said a special aspect of this year's fair is that 52 Japanese buyers are participating the fair, as Bangladesh has already become a very potential destination of apparel items for Japan.

    Apart from this, he said there are also a good numbers of buyers from some African countries which are also new destinations of Bangladeshi apparel items.

    On the sideline of the exhibition which will end on Nov. 4, the BKMEA president said, they will hold a number of seminars on different issues.