Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today (March 20, 2023) put emphasis on formulating new long term export policy for Bangladesh, considering graduation to a developing country from LDC after 2026. “After 2026, while we will graduate to a developing country from LDC, we will get some opportunities… We have to utilise those opportunities to make our economy stronger and develop the country further,” she said. The prime minister said this while speaking at the 11th meeting of the National Committee on Export, at her official residence Ganabhaban. She mentioned that after graduating to a developing nation, the next aim will be to become a developed one. Read More: Canada to increase potash exports to Bangladesh to boost food production, says country’s trade ministry Sheikh Hasina also asked the concerned to utilise opportunities regarding enhancing Bangladesh’s export items that have emerged due to Russia-Ukraine war. She said that due to Russia-Ukraine was, there is an opportunity for Bangladesh to create new markets with its own products. In this regard, she said that many countries have already shown interest to import food items from Bangladesh. “We could export food items after fulfilling local demands. We can take initiatives for that,” she said. Read More: Simplified policy, product diversification could boost exports to UK over $12 billion by 2029: Study says She said that immense opportunities could be created through establishing food processing industries in the country and export those items. The PM said that the government has given importance to the export sector. “After assuming office, we have taken steps to formulate long term export policies instead of policies on one-year basis. To sustain achievements, there is no alternative to long term strategy,” she said. She said that the government has formulated export policy until 2024 (2021-2024). Read More: Apparel export to EU up 14.3% during July-February of FY23  “…But what will we do after that? In the meantime, we are graduating to a developing country. I think this is the right time to consider what we will do in the coming days or how we will advance,” she said. She put emphasis on setting the next moves for economy, keeping in mind the current economic turmoil across the globe. “We have to find new markets across the globe. We have to diversify our products, we have to include new items in our export basket,” she said. The PM said that the Awami League government has given utmost importance to the private sector and it opened every sector to entrepreneurs as it is not possible for the government alone to develop the country. Read More: 'India a great potential market for Bangladesh's RMG exports' For the development of the export sector, she said, a strategy needs to be adopted and products have to be identified. “For that we have formulated a prospective plan – to turn the country into a developed one by 2041,” she said. The PM also mentioned ICT and digital devices, RMG, pharmaceuticals, light and medium weight industries, motor vehicles and electronic motor vehicles, while talking about diversifying products. She said that the government is preparing 100 economic zones with investment from home and abroad. Read More: Bangladesh export income rises despite bad global economy “Bangladesh has been able to attract foreign investments,” PM Hasina said.

The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) on Monday sentenced five people to life imprisonment for their crimes against humanity during the Liberation War in 1971. The three-member tribunal led by Justice Md Shahinur Islam pronounced the judgment. The convicts are Khandakar Golam Sabbir Ahmed, Harmuj Ali, Fakhruzzaman, Khandaker Golam Rabbani and Abdus Sattar. Among them, Fakhruzzaman and Rabbani were tried in absentia. Lawyers Sultan Mahmud Simon, Rezia Sultana Chaman and Barrister Taposh Kanti Bol represented the state while Advocate Abdus Sobhan Tarafdar, Mizanul Islam and Haji MH Tamim stood for the accused. Rahima Khatun, wife of martyred freedom fighter Abdur Rahman, filed a case against former Jatiya Party MP MA Hannan, Jamaat leaders Fakhruzzaman and Golam Rabbani, for their involvement in crimes against humanity during the Liberation War on May 19, 2015. Also read: 6 sentenced to death for war crimes in Mymensingh Investigating officer of the case Motiur Rahman, conducted the investigation from July 28, 2015 to July 11, 2016. Police found involvement of five more people in the case and included them in the charge sheet. On October 1, 2016, the tribunal issued warrants for the arrest of the accused. MA Hannan, his son Rafique and three more accused were arrested from Trishal upazila in Mymensingh district. Mintu died during the trial proceedings while two other accused Fakhruzzaman and Rabbani went into hiding. Various allegations, including mass killing, rape, confinement, abduction, torture, and arson attack on houses, were brought against them which were proved in the tribunal. They committed the crime in Trishal upazila of Mymensingh district during the Liberation War. The tribunal took the cases against eight people into cognizance on December 11, 2016.  

South Korean Ambassador to Bangladesh Lee Sunday visited the Government Laboratory High School in the capital, where an innovative ICT-integrated classroom opened in 2019 with the support of the South Korean government. In his speech to the students, Ambassador Lee said: "Education has been a major driving force in Korea's rapid economic growth. Korea will continue to help improve Bangladesh's education services so that it can build a brighter future with talented students." The Korean government helped establish innovative ICT-integrated classrooms in which students can use state-of-art technology to maximise the efficiency of their study at the Government Laboratory High School and Government Mohammadpur Model School and College in Dhaka in 2019. Read more: South Korean envoy Lee for strengthening infrastructure cooperation with Bangladesh

South Korean Ambassador to Bangladesh, Lee Jang-keun, has said Korean Export Processing Zone (KEPZ) in Chattogram is showing continuous progress in developing the area through a series of efforts. KEPZ is developing the area by adding more factories, establishing ICT zones, opening design and development centers, inaugurating the country’s largest rooftop solar panel electricity generation, and inviting foreign companies, he said. The South Korean envoy, together with German Ambassador to Bangladesh Achim Troester, visited KEPZ on January 7 and looked around the factories and other facilities at the compound, including the newly opened unit of German company STRAUSS. Also Read: KEPZ Hi-Tech park will attract huge FDI, hopes Palak A renowned German outdoor and sportswear company, Strauss, officially opened its design and development center, Struass CI Factory Chattogram, at KEPZ on October 24 last year. Around 200 people are currently employed in Chattogram -- from product development to sales and marketing.  KEPZ has successfully installed and is operating the country’s largest single rooftop solar power plant with a capacity of 22MW, which not only suffices the electricity needs of the zone but is also incorporated with Bangladesh’s national electricity grid, said the South Korean Embassy in Dhaka on Sunday. Also Read: Workers clash with cops at KEPZ; 6 hurt Ambassador Lee, together with State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid, inaugurated KEPZ’s rooftop solar panel plant on June 20, 2021. Ambassador Lee also said that KEPZ’s ICT zone is well underway as planned. Construction of the ICT zone started from April last year through a groundbreaking ceremony with the presence of ICT State Minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak and it is at the last stage of completing two factory buildings. According to the KEPZ, currently 43 operating factories are employing over 22,000 workers. Eight other factories are under construction. Read More: KEPZ textile zone can transform Bangladesh’s textile business: Youngone Chairman KEPZ is the sole private-owned EPZ in the country, operated by the Korean Youngone Corporation which is the first and the largest foreign investor in the RMG sector in Bangladesh.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today (December 12, 2022) said that public universities in Bangladesh lagged behind in adapting to virtual or online class when the government tried to introduce it during the Covid-19 pandemic. “Let me share something regrettable. Our public universities were a bit slow in using the digital system in education during the pandemic period. They were far behind (compared to private universities),” she said. The Prime Minister said this while attending the inaugural programme of Digital Bangladesh Day 2022. ICT Division organised the programme at Bangabandhu International Conference Center (BICC) with the theme ‘Advanced Technology Inclusive Development’. Read more: From ‘Digital Bangladesh’ to ‘Smart Bangladesh’ by 2041, PM announces Sheikh Hasina said that during the pandemic, public universities expressed reluctance to go for online classes. “Private universities started that (online classes) quickly. But our public universities (did not), even Dhaka University (did not start promptly),” she said. She said that after repeated requests, public universities of the country introduced online classes. “That was the reality. When a system is beneficial to us, why should we not adopt that?” – she questioned. Read more: $230bn needed: PM seeks support from global partners to implement climate adaptation plan If there were no ‘Digital Bangladesh’, what would have happened during the Covid-19 pandemic, she wondered. “Everything would come to a standstill.” The Prime Minister also elaborated on her government’s ICT-friendly initiatives and Vision 2041 to establish Smart Bangladesh. She mentioned that successful implementation of Digital Bangladesh made it possible for the government to keep the economy, education and other activities running properly during the pandemic. Regarding the economic situation worldwide due to the coronavirus pandemic and Russia-Ukraine war, sanctions and counter-sanctions, Sheikh Hasina said that prices of essentials have increased globally. Read More: Huawei ICT Incubator announces top 6 startups from Bangladesh “Developed countries are facing a volatile situation. Even developed countries like Great Britain have declared recession. By the grace of Allah, we are still able to run our economic wheel,” she said.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today (December 12, 2022) announced the “Smart Bangladesh” by 2041 goal. “We will make Bangladesh a developed country by 2041, and that Bangladesh will be Smart Bangladesh,” she said. The PM made the announcement while attending the inaugural programme of ‘Digital Bangladesh Day 2022’ – giving away prizes among winners of an online quiz competition. The ICT Division arranged the programme at Bangabandhu International Conference Center (BICC) with the theme ‘Advanced Technology Inclusive Development’. Read more: We are promoting grassroots arts and culture: PM Hasina Sheikh Hasina said that from Digital Bangladesh, the country will be transformed into Smart Bangladesh. She also said that the government has set four bases to realise the Smart Bangladesh goal. These are: Smart Citizen, Smart Economy, Smart Government and Smart Society. Sheikh Hasina said that the government also formulated the Delta Plan 2100 to outline the development path of the country apart from Vision 2041. The Prime Minister hoped that the youths will take the country forward and will groom themselves as smart citizens to become soldiers for the 2041 goal. Read more: Next general election to be held first week of 2024: PM Hasina announces at Cox’s Bazar rally State Minister for ICT Division Zunaid Ahmed Palak, Parliamentary Standing Committee on Post, Telecommunication and ICT Ministry Chairman AKM RahmatUllah, and ICT Division Senior Secretary NM Zeaul Alam also spoke at the programme.

Startup Bangladesh, the flagship venture capital company of the ICT Division, has invested in Bimafy, a digital Insurance platform in Bangladesh. An agreement for a Tk1 crore investment was signed between the organisations in Dhaka. NM Zeaul Alam, chairman of the board of directors of Startup Bangladesh and senior secretary of the ICT Division, was present at this time. Read: Startup Bangladesh to invest Tk5 crore in re-commerce platform SWAP Md Moinul Kabir board member of Startup Bangladesh and secretary, Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Division; Ranajit Kumar, executive director of Bangladesh Computer Council, and board member of Startup Bangladesh; Managing Director of Startup Bangladesh Sami Ahmed, Head of Portfolio Investment Hasan A Arif and Chairman of Bimafy Arnab Paul and Managing Director of Bimafy Alvi Nizam Nafi were also present. Since 2019, Bimafy has been working on the digitalisation of insurance service facilities to ensure that their customer services in the insurance sector meet the "global standard." Read More: In search of future entrepreneurs: iDEA Project to launch Startup Compass Tuesday Customers can choose and buy health insurance, accident insurance, travel insurance and motor insurance from insurance companies of their choice on the Bimafy app and website. Bimafy also works with multiple companies to provide a variety of corporate solutions.

Global ICT infrastructure provider Huawei has announced six startups as the winners of its ICT Incubator 2022 programme. The winners will get seed money as the award in addition to the opportunity to meet global startups for knowledge sharing. The announcement was made at a city hotel Wednesday (October 19, 2022). Huawei organised the event with the cooperation of Startup Bangladesh and the Innovation Design and Entrepreneurship Academy (iDEA). Read Huawei's 20-yr presence in Bangladesh witnesses tech transformation The competition has two groups, namely, the Idea Stage and the Early Stage. The winners of the Idea Stage and the Early Stage, respectively, are Insure Cow (Champion), Durjoy DSS (first runners-up), and Relaxy (second runners-up); and Jahaji (champions), Palki (first runners-up), and We Gro Technologies (second runners-up). The champions will get Tk500,000 as prize money and $125,000 Huawei Cloud credit; whereas the first and second runners-up will get Tk300,000 and Tk100,000 as prize money, respectively, in addition to $80,000 Huawei Cloud Credit. Apart from these, a co-founder from each company will visit abroad to meet successful foreign startups. An independent jury panel of the iDEA project, Huawei Bangladesh, Startup Bangladesh and other renowned leaders of the startup ecosystem of Bangladesh, selected the winners. Read Huawei welcomes 10 BD ICT talents in Beijing ICT State Minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak joined the event as the chief guest. Li Jiming, ambassador of China to Bangladesh, was present as a special guest along with Professor Vincent Chang, vice-chancellor of Brac University, Pan Junfeng, CEO of Huawei Bangladesh, Sami Ahmed, managing director of Startup Bangladesh, Md Altaf Hossain, project director (joint secretary) of iDEA Project. Around 180 participants applied for this year's ICT Incubator programme. Divided into two groups – The idea stage and the Early stage, 68 startups were selected to join the Incubator Bootcamp, where they were mentored and provided technical training. After this, the participants presented their startup ideas before the jury panel. Based on the judgment of the jury members, a total of 20 startups from both stages were selected as finalists for the gala event of Huawei ICT Incubator 2022. Finally, the top 3 from the Idea stage and the top 3 from the Early stage have been announced as winners at the gala event. Read Huawei brings three competitions for Bangladeshi youths

The Bangladesh high commissioner to Malaysia has highlighted the remarkable digital transformation of his country and underlined the importance of establishing institutional linkages to promote greater bilateral collaboration in ICT and digital economy."We are determined to work closely with Malaysia to find ways and means to establish Bangladesh-Malaysia Digital Economy Corridor in terms of enabling policy support and stakeholders’ integration and participation," said high commissioner Md Golam SarwarThe envoy mentioned about the achievements of Bangladesh in the field of ICT and digital economy and invited Malaysian entrepreneurs to invest in high tech parks in Bangladesh for a mutually beneficial partnership in the field of digital economy.Following two years’ COVID-19 break, Wisma Putra, the Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in collaboration with Multimedia University (MMU) and Axiata organized the first in-person workshop under the Malaysian Technical Cooperation Programme (MTCP) from 3 to 7 October 2022.A 15-member Bangladesh delegation led by Brig Gen Md. Nasim Parvez, Director General (System and Services), Bangladesh Telecom regulatory Commission (BTRC) and comprising Senior officials of the concerned regulatory organizations of Bangladesh participated in the workshop on ICT/ Digital economy.The concluding ceremony of the workshop, held at MMU, Cyberjaya was also attended by Hafizah Abdullah, Undersecretary, International Cooperation and Development Division (ICDD), Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia, Vivek Sood, Joint Acting Group CFO Axiata/ Group CFO Berhad and Prof Dato Dr. Mazliham Mohd Su’ud, President of Multimedia University. Read: Malaysia offering premium visa to draw wealthy investorsWhile attending the concluding ceremony, the Bangladesh envoy expressed his deep appreciation to the govt of Malaysia for organizing the timely event under G2G initiative.The under secretary of the Malaysian Foreign Ministry highlighted the existing bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Malaysia.She informed the participants about MTCP, including Malaysia’s strong commitment to strengthen South-South cooperation, and Malaysian Govt’s initiatives on digital transformation.President and CEO of MMU informed about various activities at MMU and apprised that the toppers at the University are from the 228 Bangladeshi students studying in MMU.Earlier, the opening ceremony of the workshop was organized on 3 October 2022 in presence of Mohammad Khorshed A. Khastagir, deputy high commissioner of Bangladesh, Prof. Dr. Hairul Azhar Bin Abdul Rashid, Vice President of MMU and Farah Fazarina Binti Mohamad, Principal Assistant Secretary (ICDD) of Malaysian MOFA.In her speech, the Principal Assistant Secretary (ICDD) of the Malaysian Foreign Ministry informed that till date some 800 Bangladeshis have been benefitted from MTCP program.She expressed hope that the participants would be able to know about Malaysian experience in digital transformation & its best practices in the field of digital economy.During the weeklong workshop, beside attending academic sessions, the Bangladeshi delegates paid study visits to relevant govt. institutions of Malaysia.

Bangladesh and Japan can develop “ICT bridges” as the latter faces shortage of young ICT engineers, says a Japanese expert. “The two countries can support each other. I hope young Bangladeshis go to Japan and have some experience… It is not a one-way support,” Dr Kano Tsuyoshi, co-founder and CEO of ICT for Development (NPO), Japan, told UNB today. Responding to a question, Dr Kano, also an associate professor at Kanazawa Institute of Technology, Japan said he is eager to support young Bangladeshi ICT engineers. Read Present world is not of competition but collaboration: Palak While talking to this correspondent at Jatiya Press Club (JPC), the Japanese expert said digital human resources are one of the important factors for the ICT sector’s development in Bangladesh. “Digital human resources in Bangladesh can be ICT bridges between the country and Japan,” said the Japanese expert. He said if young Bangladeshi professionals go to Japan and come back to Bangladesh after 10 to 20 years, both countries will be benefitted.   Dr Kano said Japan has a big challenge — shortage of ICT engineers — because it is becoming an “aging society” and the number of young people is inadequate. Read: Bangladesh gets drug, precursor test kits from Japan through UNODC “Young ICT engineers are not many in Japan,” he said, adding that in Bangladesh, many young people do not get jobs immediately after graduation, even in the ICT sector, due to lack of required skills. The Japanese expert said these two challenges — shortage of ICT engineers in Japan and shortage of good jobs in Bangladesh — can be addressed through cooperation and collaboration. Dr Kano, who is visiting Bangladesh at the invitation of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Japanese Embassy in Dhaka, is scheduled to leave Dhaka on Tuesday. Read IBBL ICT wing holds discussion, hosts iftar party He said both soft and hard skills can be obtained through global experiences and the two countries can make ICT business relationships stronger. The number of Japanese companies operating in Bangladesh has tripled in the past 10 years with an increased attention from ICT companies (offshoring, development center, recruitment, etc.).  On Sunday, he delivered a lecture on “ICT Bridge between Bangladesh and Japan” at ICT Division, joined by more than 100 people – government officials, industry people and students. Read KUET partners with Huawei to set up ICT academy