Bangladesh apparels may need to focus more on high-value apparel items and explore new export destinations to achieve the goal of $50 billion export income by 2021. The suggestions came at the inaugural ceremony of a day-long 'Textile Youth Leadership Summit 2018' in Dhaka. President of Institution of Textile Engineers and Technologists (ITET) Shafiqur Rahman attended 10th founding anniversary the opening ceremony as the chief guest, while Pro-Vice Chancellor of BGMEA University of Fashion and Technology (BUFT) Ayub Nabi Khan chaired the function.

Shafiqur Rahman stated while the country's economy is now mostly dependant on the apparel sector, the country still lacks required number of skilled professionals including textiles engineers. For this reason, the sector has to spend millions of dollars on employing foreign experts. It is high time to produce more textile engineers and other experts to bridge the gap, says Shafiqur

He urged the participants to develop their skill in line with the industrial demand. Hundreds of textile engineering students and young professionals attended the summit. In his speech, Rahman said growth of the country's apparel sector had been slowing down in recent years due to several reasons. He further added that transformation in various issues including productivity, competitiveness and innovation is required to sustain the growth momentum.