DHAKA: Representatives from some of the major US companies expressed their interest to invest in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector in Bangladesh.
They voiced their interests at a roundtable discussion in New York on Thursday (April 29), says a press release signed by Chowdhury Sultana Perveen, Counsellor and Head of Chancery of the Consulate General of Bangladesh in New York.
Bangladesh’s State Minister for ICT Division, Zunaid Ahmed Palak, MP, attended the discussion held at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York.
The event was coordinated by the Business Council for International Understanding (BCIU), a prominent think-tank founded by US President Dwight Eisenhower in 1955.
The Roundtable started with a short power point presentation paying deep tribute to the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
While focusing on the Digital Bangladesh, envisioned by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the State Minister mentioned about numerous measures, including Hi-Tech parks and IT Parks, being implemented by the incumbent government.
Regarding the on-going digitalization process, he said about increased use of innovation and entrepreneurship. He also called the executives of the US Companies to take advantage of the enormous opportunities available in the IT sector in Bangladesh.
There were also digital presentations on the IT potentials of the country.
The statement by Zunaid Ahmed Palak was followed by a Question & Answer Session in which he along with the accompanying delegates replied to the queries of the inquisitive potential investors.
On the sideline of the event, two memorandums of understanding (MoUs) were signed.
One was between Bangladesh Computer Council (BCC) and American Association of Bangladeshi Engineers & Architects (AABEA).
State Minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak and AABEA Washington DC Chapter President Golam Mowla along with Faisal Quader and Shah Ahmed were present at the event.
The MOU envisages four key aspects of IT initiatives in Bangladesh such as Cyber security, Data Center, Call Center and Outsourcing.
The other tripartite MoU was signed among GAP, BCC and BASIS for cooperation in building up start-ups in the ICT sector in Bangladesh.
Palak also talked to the New York based Bangladeshi media on the policy priorities of the government in the ICT sector.
The event was organized by the Bangladesh Hi-tech Park Authority, Government of Bangladesh in collaboration with the Embassy of Bangladesh in Washington DC.
Md. Shameem Ahsan, ndc, Consul General of Bangladesh in New York, Shahabuddin Patwary, Economic Minister at the Bangladesh Embassy in Washington DC, SM Ashraful Islam, Executive Director, Bangladesh Computer Council (BCC), ANM Shafiqul Islam, Project Director, Kaliakor Hi-Tech Park Project, Shameem Ahsan, President, BASIS and Anir Chowdhury, Policy Advisor, A21 Project, Prime Minister’s Office were, among others, present from the Bangladesh side.
BDST: 1722 HRS, APR 30, 2016
JP/SR/SMS
