A 16-member support committee has been formed to assist the newly appointed administrator of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) in managing the operational activities of the country's apex trade body.
The committee was constituted under the Trade Organisations Act, 2022, in accordance with a notification issued by the FBCCI on Tuesday.
The move follows the appointment of prominent business leader and former BKMEA president Md Fazlul Hoque as administrator of the FBCCI. The government appointed Mr Hoque, ending more than a month of leadership uncertainty at the FBCCI.
Mr Hoque, managing director of Plummy Fashions Ltd and a board member of ICC Bangladesh, formally assumed office at the FBCCI headquarters in Motijheel on Sunday.
The support committee comprises seven representatives from the Chamber Group and nine from the Association Group.
The Chamber Group members are Taskeen Ahmed, President of the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI); Mohammad Amirul Haque, President of the Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI); Md Hasen Ali, President of the Rajshahi Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Md Ebaydul Haque Chand, President of the Barishal Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Kamran T. Rahman, President of the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI); Emdadul Hossain, President of the Rangpur Chamber of Commerce and Industry; and Sangita Ahmed, President of the Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The Association Group members are Mahmud Hasan Khan, President of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA); Showkat Aziz Russell, President of the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA); Md Abdul Hossain, President of the Bangladesh Jute Mills Association (BJMA); Abdul Muqtadir, President of the Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industries (BAPI); Abdul Hai Sarker, President of the Bangladesh Association of Banks (BAB); Mohammad Hatem, President of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA); Shamim Ahmed, President of the Bangladesh Plastic Goods Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BPGMEA); Ali Afzal, President of the Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB); and Syed Nasim Manzur, President of the Leathergoods and Footwear Manufacturers & Exporters Association of Bangladesh.
An office circular signed by FBCCI Administrator Md Fazlul Hoque said the committee had been formed to assist the administrator in discharging his responsibilities and overseeing the operations of the trade body.
Speaking to The Financial Express, BKMEA President Mohammad Hatem said the support committee would function much like a board under the leadership of the newly appointed administrator.
“Our main priority will be to hold a free, fair and credible election in line with the government’s commitment to hand over the leadership of the federation to an elected body,” he said.
