German Parliamentary Committee Visits Bangladesh from 26-30 April, 2014 A 7-member delegation of the German Parliamentary Committee on Economic Cooperation and Development visited Bangladesh from 26-30 April, 2014. The delegation was headed by Ms Dagmar Wöhrl who has been the Chair of the Committee since 2009. It also included 6 other MPs namely Mr. Juergen Klimke, Mr. Frank Heinrich, Mr. Stefan Rebmann, Ms. Gabi Weber, Mr. Niema Movassat and Mr. Uwe Kekeritz. One year after the collapse of the Rana Plaza building in Savar, the main purpose of the visit was to assess the situation in the RMG Sector and get information about the initiatives taken so far in this sector to improve the health and safety standards for the Bangladeshi workers. During the visit the delegation visited a couple of factories in Savar to get an impression of the working conditions of Bangladeshi workers and also met with the survivors of the collapsed Rana Plaza building at the Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP) which receives funding from German Development Cooperation. In addition, the Parliamentarians visited two projects that focus on the inclusion of street children and victims of acid attacks to demonstrate their solidarity with those vulnerable groups in need of support. The delegation called on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury and BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia. The delegation also met with Nobel Laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus. At the concluding press conference on 29 April, the head of the delegation Mrs Dagmar Wöhrl reiterated Germany’s support for Bangladesh on its way to leave behind poverty and to consolidate its democracy. Reflecting on the outcome of the visit Wöhrl said that since Bangladesh’s independence, Germany has been its long-standing development partner. She further added “Germany is Bangladesh’s second biggest market for RMG worldwide. This creates a joint obligation for buyers, traders and producers, for your Government and for ours, for your trade unions and civil society and ours, to make sure that production and working conditions are up to international standards.” During the press conference the head of the delegation Ms Wöhrl also briefly reflected on the 5th January election. She conveyed Bundestag’s concerns that the current Parliament has been elected by a small part of the electorate only. She highlighted “while we appreciate the stability this country has again found today, we have some doubts whether it can be maintained for a full period of five years unless substantial dialogue between the major political forces starts, rather sooner than later. We would hope to soon receive a positive signal from Bangladesh in this respect. “ Additionally, drawing comparison between Bangladesh and Germany the deputy head of the delegation Stefan Rebmann said that German products also suffered a blow right after World War II when ‘made in Germany’ was viewed scornfully. But with time Germany was able to re-establish its brand worldwide. “Similarly it is also possible for the ‘made in Bangladesh’ label which is currently associated with poor working conditions to be re-established if health and safety standards are strictly enforced” Rebbmann concluded.
Posted on: Sun, 04 May 2014 10:33:55 +0000
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