After the RMG sector, it is now the turn of Bangladesh leather sector to make its mark in the global arena. The promise that the country’s leather industry holds has led Switzerland to come forward to provide help and cooperation in leather goods and footwear sectors to enable Bangladesh expand its exports to the European markets.
Ambassador of Switzerland to Bangladesh Dr René Holenstein reportedly expressed his country’s interest in this direction while visiting Picard Bangladesh Ltd in Savar recently. The Ambassador toured the factory and had exchanges with the beneficiaries of an initiative supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) implemented through the Center of Excellence for Leather skill Bangladesh Limited (COEL).
This initiative trained 10,000 apprentices in the Bangladeshi leather industry through on-job training. It further trained 6157 women and 6615 individuals under the ‘disadvantaged’ category.
As per a statement issued by the President of Leathergoods and Footwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association of Bangladesh (LFMEAB) and Managing Director of Picard Bangladesh Ltd Md Saiful Islam, Dr René Holenstein reportedly expressed his appreciation to LFMEAB for hosting the delegation and briefly touched upon areas for development and cooperation that could strengthen the sector to enable Bangladesh to further expand its exports to the European markets.