Staff Correspondent: Dhaka, Aug-19,

Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi has said vaccination of the workers is the top priority of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government. 

He said the government hopes to vaccinate 5 million workers in the ready-made garment sector against Covid-19 within a month and a half. 

The Commerce Minister said this in a meeting with Walmart Vice President Paul Dyck at the Embassy of Bangladesh in Washington DC. 

Tipu Munshi, who led the Bangladesh delegation to the Magic Las Vegas 2021 trade show, made a brief stopover at Washington DC to participate in a trade roundtable organized by McLarty Associates, said the Bangladesh Embassy on Thursday. 

The commerce minister said that the government and the factory owners were working hand in hand to vaccinate the garment workers each day. 

He highlighted the government's efforts and the factories' preparedness to ensure safety of the workers in the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

He also expressed hope that in the next six months, more than 60 percent of the total population of Bangladesh will be vaccinated. 

The Walmart Vice President said that with the improvement of the COVID 19 situation in the USA, Walmart is now ready to explore and source more from abroad.

 Apart from the ready-made garment products, the Minister encouraged Walmart to buy leather goods, pharmaceuticals, light engineering items including bicycles, and plastic products from Bangladesh.    

Over the luncheon roundtable, Chairman of Bangladesh Shrimp and Fish Foundation Syed Mahmudul Huq highlighted the need to position the black tigers as a premium shrimp in the US market by ensuring that modern production capabilities are in place and that overseas markets' food safety and traceability requirements are consistently met. 

The meeting highlighted the need for retaining long-term demand of Bangladeshi tiger shrimps by ensuring that our aquaculture products are third-party certified as being responsibly produced. 

It was decided that Bangladesh Shrimp and Fish Foundation and the Embassy of Bangladesh in Washington DC will work together to retain and enhance market share of Bangladeshi tiger shrimps in the USA. 

Among others, Bangladesh Ambassador to the USA M. Shahidul Islam, Senior Adviser of McLarty Associates Ambassador Teresita Schaffer, Senior Director of Walmart Ms. Sarah Thorn, and other officers from Commerce Ministry and Embassy of Bangladesh in Washington DC were present at the meeting.  

Earlier, the commerce minister placed floral wreaths at the bust of the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, at the Embassy of Bangladesh in Washington DC. 

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