Bangladesh, July 21 -- Industry leaders and policymakers on Monday urged Bangladesh's apparel and textile sectors to rapidly embrace artificial intelligence (AI), automation, Industry 4.0 and higher value-added manufacturing to remain globally competitive and successfully navigate the challenges of post-LDC graduation.

Advertisement They observed that future competitiveness would depend less on low-cost manufacturing and more on productivity, innovation, sustainability and technology-driven production.

The observations came at the inaugural session of the two-day BAYLA Future Summit 2026, organised by the Bangladesh Apparel Youth Leaders Alliance (BAYLA) in Dhaka.

Labour and Employment Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury said the apparel ...