Prime Minister Tarique Rahman today said the government would reopen closed mills and factories in the Khulna region and encourage domestic and foreign investors to establish new industries to create employment opportunities.

He said a new wage board had already been formed to consider workers' demands and had started its work. The board is expected to announce new wages within the next one to two months.

The Prime Minister made the remarks while addressing a roadside gathering at Katakhali intersection on the Khulna-Mongla highway in Bagerhat at around 12:30 pm during his day-long official visit to the region.

Tarique Rahman alleged that certain individuals and a group were attempting to create unrest in the country from across the border, using workers' legitimate demands as a pretext to destabilise industrial establishments.

Referring to incidents of vandalism at various factories, machinery and vehicles, he said genuine workers could never destroy the very establishments that provided them with employment.

He said industrial establishments were assets of both the country and its workers, adding that any destruction of these facilities would cause the greatest harm to workers, their families and children.

The Prime Minister further alleged that those who were ousted from power following the mass uprising on August 5, 2024, were attempting to create instability in the country from across the border.

He called upon ordinary people and workers to stand together and give an appropriate response to those involved in such conspiracies.

The Prime Minister said the government had plans for extensive industrialisation stretching from Khulna, Bagerhat and Chuadanga to Panchagarh in the northern region, with the aim of generating employment and improving people's living standards.

He said the government was working to revive the economic prospects of the once-industrially prosperous Khulna region, as well as the long-neglected southwestern and northern parts of the country.