Industries minister Dilip Barua addresses a workshop on National Quality Policy at the Sonargaon Hotel in the capital on Thursday. — New Age photo

Industries minister Dilip Barua on Thursday said that the government is preparing a National Quality Policy to maximise exports by producing quality goods and services.
Dilip, while addressing the inaugural ceremony of a workshop, said that they are preparing the policy with the help of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization under the Better Quality Infrastructure component of the Better Work and Standards Programme which was funded by the European Union and NORAD.
The workshop on National Quality Policy at the Pan-Pacific Sonargaon Hotel was organised by the Ministry of Industries and United Nations Industrial Development Organization.
‘We need to establish an internationally accepted infrastructure of standards, methodology, accreditation, inspection, testing and certification to boost our exports’ said Dilip.
‘Exports are increasing day by day so we need to ensure the quality of goods and services during import and export by establishing the legal and social infrastructure and mechanism for mandatory accreditation, certification, testing or inspection,’ he said.
‘In order to meet the growing demand for quality goods and services we have no alternative but to produce world-class goods and services in the country,’ he added.
Secretary K H Masud Siddiqui, ambassador of the European Union William Hanna, Better Work and Standards Programme’s project director Lutfor Rahman Tarafder, project manager Ouseph Padickakudi, chief technical adviser David Holbourne, Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution’s director General AK Fazlul Ahad and Bangladesh Accreditation Board’s director General Abu Abdullah also spoke at the inaugural session of the workshop.
Representatives of eight ministries — industries, commerce, science and technology, fisheries and livestock, textile and jute, agriculture, health and family welfare, labour and manpower — had a discussion with other public and private sector stakeholders at the workshop.
Foreign and local experts shared case studies of developing countries like the Czech Republic and Vietnam and delivered lectures on trade policy, quality policy, food safety and other issues at the workshop.