Rafiqul new BGMEA president as Kochi resigns

Khandoker Rafiqul Islam, managing director of Designtex Group, will now serve the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) as its president.

After SM Mannan Kochi, who was elected BGMEA president on 14 March for the 2024-26 term, resigned today, the association's board elected Rafiqul president to complete the remaining term.

In an emergency meeting held at a hotel in Dhaka, the BGMEA board also elected Team Group Managing Director Abdullah Hil Rakib and Urmi Group Managing Director Asif Ashraf as its senior vice president and vice president, respectively.

In an immediate reaction, Rafiqul Islam said, "Our first priority will be to restore the foreign buyers' confidence on Bangladesh as law and order is improving gradually.

"We want to assure our buyers that the country is the safest place for sourcing apparel items."

A BGMEA leader told The Business Standard today that Kochi resigned from his position citing personal reasons and his illness but will continue as a director on the board.

In the last election, Rafiqul was elected senior vice president of the trade body.

The resignation of Kochi, who is also the general secretary of the Dhaka North City Awami League, follows the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina government amid a mass uprising earlier this month.

Earlier, on 20 August, the Forum – the panel that lost the election months ago – called for the dissolution of the current board and the establishment of an interim committee to oversee a free, fair, and credible election for the trade body.

In a letter to the commerce ministry, the panel alleged that the BGMEA election held in February this year was marred by irregularities and was heavily influenced by the then Hasina government.

The panel leaders also alleged that Kochi had good relations with the deposed premier and was involved in carrying out attacks on students during their movement in July and August. After the political changeover, he has gone into hiding.

Following the ouster of the Awami League government on 5 August, several cases, including one for murder, have been filed against Kochi.

However, speaking with TBS, the BGMEA leader has denied any involvement in the violence and has been in Singapore for his son's treatment since 4 August.