The Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with India’s Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council (TEXPROCIL), a move both sides say will unlock fresh bilateral trade in the ready-made garment and textile sectors.
The agreement was signed by BKMEA President Mohammad Hatem and TEXPROCIL Executive Director Siddhartha Rajagopal on the sidelines of Bharat Tex 2026 in New Delhi, India’s largest global textile event.
Hatem said the two countries have substantial room to grow trade ties in garments and textiles through closer cooperation between industry bodies and governments. BKMEA Executive President Ehsan Fazlee Shamim said India’s expanding middle class represents a significant opportunity for Bangladeshi apparel exporters, who have posted strong growth in recent years. He added that Bangladesh, in turn, offers a promising outlet for Indian cotton, man-made fibers, dyes and chemicals, positioning the two textile sectors to complement rather than compete with each other.
The MoU builds on a cooperation framework TEXPROCIL first established with Bangladesh’s other major garment body, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), in 2023, when the two sides agreed to facilitate greater bilateral business and called for the removal of trade barriers along with upgraded land-port infrastructure to handle rising transport demand. The new BKMEA agreement extends that model specifically to Bangladesh’s knitwear segment, one of its largest export categories.
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BKMEA has used Bharat Tex 2026 to expand its regional partnerships more broadly. Days after signing with TEXPROCIL, the association inked a separate MoU with Wazir Advisors on 14 July, aimed at advancing knowledge exchange, industry research and regional collaboration. Under that deal, BKMEA’s industry network and on-the-ground insights will be paired with Wazir Advisors’ expertise in strategy, market intelligence and sustainability, with both sides aiming to generate research and support innovation across South Asia’s apparel sector.
TEXPROCIL, an autonomous, non-profit body founded in 1954 to promote India’s cotton textile exports internationally, has also been active on other fronts at Bharat Tex 2026. The council separately signed an MoU with Amazon India to accelerate e-commerce exports from India’s cotton textile sector, giving TEXPROCIL members access to Amazon Global Selling’s international marketplaces in the United States, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Canada, Germany and Australia. Amazon said the tie-up supports its target of enabling $80 billion in cumulative e-commerce exports from India by 2030.
Bangladesh-India textile ties are also being reinforced through trade fairs on Bangladeshi soil. More than 100 Indian companies are expected to participate in Intex Bangladesh 2026 in Dhaka, backed by Indian export bodies including TEXPROCIL, the Powerloom Development and Export Promotion Council, the Manmade and Technical Textiles Export Promotion Council, and the Federation of Indian Export Organisations. The show will introduce a dedicated pavilion for dyes, chemicals and finishing solutions, organized with the Basic Chemicals, Cosmetics and Dyes Export Promotion Council, reflecting rising demand for sustainable and high-performance chemical inputs in regional garment manufacturing.
India’s textile exports, including handicrafts, grew 2.1% in fiscal year 2025-26, rising to 3.16 lakh crore rupees from 3.10 lakh crore rupees a year earlier, according to industry data cited at Bharat Tex 2026. Bangladesh, for its part, remains the world’s second-largest garment exporter, and industry leaders on both sides say deeper institutional cooperation, rather than one-off trade deals, will be key to sustaining growth as global sourcing patterns continue to shift.