THE news that Bangladesh has more green RMG factories than any other country in the world is a delightful one. Over the last few years, Bangladesh's garment industries, the lifeline of the country's economy, have faced repeated calls to strengthen their factory safety and security. In this context, the fact that Bangladesh leads the way in building environmentally and structurally safe garment factories should reassure the foreign buyers that our industries are committed to addressing their concerns.

In total, 67 of Bangladesh's garment factories have received the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certificate from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). We commend them for setting such an extraordinary example. We call on others, which are still lagging behind, to follow in their footsteps. This certification should also serve as a reassurance to all parties concerned that Bangladesh has made, and is continuing to make, considerable progress in improving its garment factories.

We, however, recognise that our RMG industries have still a lot to improve, but this recognition indicates that Bangladesh is well ahead of many other garmentproducing nations. We thank the rights groups and global industrial giants for continuously pushing Bangladesh's industries to make progress. However, they should also understand that it made such progress at a time when the global garment production business faces turmoil and intense competition, as many buyers are looking for cheaper products elsewhere in Africa.

Bangladesh's industries will flourish and be able to ensure labour rights and high-standard factory safety, only if global buyers are ready to support them and buy clothes at an increased price. The global giants' continued and increased participation in efforts to make Bangladesh's garment factories safer has been crucial. We are confident that all stakeholders would continue in the same vein.