"Many of the textile machinery manufacturing plants of Switzerland are being relocated to some Asian countries to reduce the manufacturing costs, and so the factories can also be brought to Bangladesh," said Matin Choudhury, vice president of Switzerland Bangladesh Business Forum.

Choudhury was moderating a reception in Dhaka on Thursday, which was hosted for Swiss textile machinery manufacturers who came to Bangladesh on the occasion of the '4th Dhaka International Textile and Garment Machinery Exhibition' that began on the same day at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre.

Being one of the top readymade garment exporters in the world, Bangladesh needs a large number of different types of textile machinery, which can be made locally through relocation of the plants here, he said at the reception.

Dora Rapold, Swiss ambassador to Bangladesh, spoke at the function, which was attended, among others, by Lukas Sigrist, secretary general of Zurich-based Association of Swiss Textile Machinery Manufacturers, along with other 12 Swiss textile machinery manufacturers.

The Swiss ambassador lauded the bilateral trade relations between the two countries.

"Bangladesh needs textile and garment machinery while Switzerland is in need of importing readymade garments, so the economies of both the countries complement each other," the Swiss ambassador said.

She further said the private sector, especially the textile and garment sector, has been instrumental in sustaining Bangladesh's economic growth.