President Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has stressed the need to strengthen textile education and research in Bangladesh to develop internationally competitive engineers and specialists and reduce the industry’s reliance on foreign experts.
He made the remarks on Sunday during a courtesy meeting with a seven-member delegation led by Bangladesh University of Textiles (BUTEX) Vice-Chancellor Prof. Dr. Md. Julhas Uddin at Bangabhaban. Sanjida Islam, a lawmaker from a reserved seat for women and a BUTEX alumna, was also present.
The President highlighted the importance of creating suitable employment opportunities for textile graduates at home and abroad, noting that effective use of skilled human resources could generate foreign currency. He also called for increasing domestic cotton production to meet the textile industry’s raw material needs by encouraging farmers, reducing production costs and strengthening coordination between the agriculture and textile sectors.
He further emphasized research into extracting fibres from natural sources, including jute, pineapple leaves and banana plants, alongside the development of synthetic yarn.
During the meeting, the BUTEX delegation briefed the President on the university’s contributions to Bangladesh’s textile and ready-made garment (RMG) industries, as well as its academic and research activities. They also raised several institutional priorities, including infrastructure development, modern laboratory facilities, recruitment of additional staff, the establishment of a separate BCS (Textile) cadre, increased budgetary allocations and land allocation in Purbachal, Dhaka, for a second campus.
The President advised the delegation to contact the relevant ministries to address these issues and assured them of his cooperation.
During the meeting, Vice-Chancellor Prof. Dr. Md. Julhas Uddin invited the President, who is also the university’s Chancellor, to preside over BUTEX’s second convocation, scheduled for March 2027. The President accepted the invitation and assured the delegation of his attendance.
Other members of the delegation included Prof. Dr. Md. Ahsan Habib, dean of the Faculty of Textile Management and Business Studies; Prof. Shilpi Akter, dean of the Faculty of Textile Engineering; Prof. Dr. Hasina Akhtar, dean of the Faculty of Science and Engineering; Prof. Dr. Rasheda Begum Dina, dean of the Faculty of Textile Chemical Engineering; and Prof. Dr. Lamia Zahir of the Faculty of Fashion Design and Apparel Engineering. The President’s military secretary, secretary and press secretary were also present.
