Commerce and Industries Minister Tofail Ahmed yesterday said the government is trying to reinvigorate the Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) to convert the challenges of the next millennium into opportunities through implementing its strategies, reports UNB.

He was inaugurating a two-day seminar on "the role of BSCIC in the industrialisation of Bangladesh in the 21 st century" here.

The minister said the government wants to raise the contribution of industrial sector to the GDP at 25 per cent at the terminal .year of the current fifth five-year plan period (1997-2001).

He requested the experts, economists and BSCIC officials to recommend programmes to be implemented by BSCIC to achieve the goal.

The minister said, out of 57 completed BSCIC estates, 26 estates have been completed in the last year. He said, repayment of loan taken by the BSCIC entrepreneurs is highly satisfactory.

He said, sufficient bank loan and budgetary provision should be provided to the entrepreneurs

at the BSCIC estates to generate interest among the small entrepreneurs.

The Industries Minister said, the new millennium is coming towards us as a great challenge in all spheres of life especially in the trade and industrial development.

He said, our strategy is to expand small and cottage industry throughout the country for poverty alleviation, local employment generation and export diversification.

Tofail said, the government is formulating policies to face the challenges emerged out from the process of globalisation and liberalisation of trade.

Referring to the regional and global trade scenario, the minister said. Bangladesh in the early nineties drastically reduced the import tariff regime, which created floodgates for the foreign goods especially from neighbouring countries.

He said, these steps have seriously affected our medium, small and cottage industries. He said, SAPTA agreement Was signed in 1993 where the local value addition for enjoying preferential market access in the SAARC countries has been fixed at 40 per cent.

But it was not possible at that time, nor even at present, to add 40 per cent domestic contents for Bangladesh in its major exportables, the commerce minister said.

He said the present government made several negotiations with the SAARC partners and it was decided in the third meeting of SAARC commerce ministers held recently in Dhaka that local value addition requirements would be 30 per cent for getting preferential access.

He said, at the same time, India and other SAARC countries reduced their import tariff on many items. He said. Bangladesh is no*' able to export substantially to the SAARC countries.

The inaugural session was presided over by the BSCIC chairman Md Khorshed Ansar Khan.

Chairman of Bangladesh Unnayan Parishad Dr Kazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad presentee a paper entitled "Bangladesh; Economic Liberalisation, Micro and Small Enterprise Development and BSCIC" in the seminar.

Eminent professor, economists and scholars are participating in the discussion.