Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has invited Brazilian investors to invest in the energy, infrastructure and ICT sectors in Bangladesh. He said Bangladesh is the largest manufacturing hub in the region. Foreign Minister Momen said Bangladesh and Brazil have so many similarities but the trade volume is still to grow more. The issues were discussed when newly appointed Ambassador of Brazil to Bangladesh Paulo Fernando Dias Feres met the Foreign Minister at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday. Foreign Minister Momen welcomed the new Brazilian Ambassador to Bangladesh and congratulated him on the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations with Brazil. Read more: EU announces € 3m for Rohingyas in Bhasan Char He also congratulated the newly elected President of Brazil Luiz Inácio ‘Lula’ da Silva for his remarkable victory. The Foreign Minister said Bangladesh looks forward to working with the new administration to further strengthening the political and trade relations. Momen invited newly elected President Luiz Inácio ‘Lula’ da Silva to visit Bangladesh next year at a mutually convenient time. Read more: UN expert urges Bangladesh to step up efforts to prevent trafficking He highlighted Bangladesh’s interest in importing sugar, soybean oil and high breed milking cows from Brazil. Momen also expressed hope that Brazil would facilitate Bangladesh’s initiative to have preferential trade agreement with the MERCOSUR countries. The Foreign Minister said at present developing countries do not have any effective international forum for greater cooperation. He opined that the developing countries like Brazil, Bangladesh and other like-minded developing countries can form an organisation for southern countries for better supply chain management, information sharing and shared economic development. Brazilian Ambassador Feres appreciated the idea and expressed his country’s keen interest to work with Bangladesh closely on the issues of mutual benefits. He appreciated Bangladesh’s economic strides in the recent years and sought government’s cooperation during his tenure in Dhaka. Both sides also discussed the issues of mutual cooperation and reciprocal supports in the multilateral forum.

Indian Minister for Railways, Communications, and Electronics & Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw on Tuesday appreciated Bangladesh’s “outstanding achievements” in ICT sector made under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. He said both the neighbouring countries can further bolster cooperation and collaboration in reaping mutual gains of emerging technologies and digital economy. Also read: Palak visits Indian Institute of Technology, NASSCOM in New Delhi State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak held a meeting with the Indian minister at the latter’s office in New Delhi and discussed issues of mutual interest. Palak shared with the Indian IT minister four priority areas of Prime Minister’s ICT Affairs Adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy towards building a developed and tech-savvy Bangladesh, according to a message received here from Bangladesh Mission in New Delhi.

Bangladesh Overseas Employment and Services Limited (BOESL) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with an Australian company for recruiting Bangladeshis in the Australian ICT sector. The state-owned manpower exporting company BOESL inked the MoU with Australian company Sterning on Thursday, said a PID handout on Friday. BOESL Managing Director Md Billal Hossain and Operation Director of Sterning Paul Egan on behalf of their respective sides signed the document. READ: Women’s participation in ICT sector to be raised substantially: Hasina As per the agreement, Sterning will arrange employment for the skilled manpower of Bangladesh in the ICT sector in different client companies in Australia. BOESL will provide competent candidates against the demand of Sterning. Bangladeshi ICT professionals will have job opportunities in Australia for the next three years under the deal. Consulate General of Bangladesh in Sydney Khandaker Masudul Alam, Counsellor (Labour) of Bangladesh High Commission in Canberra Md Salahuddin, Sterning CEO Joseph Merz and BOESL Executive Manager Md Mahabubur Rahman, among others, virtually joined the agreement signing ceremony. READ: Administrative work remain uninterrupted amid pandemic due to progress in ICT sector: Palak Billal Hossain said the BOESL is now contacting other Australian companies to expand the skilled manpower export to Australia in other sectors. Joseph Merz said there is demand for skilled IT professionals in Australia. So, recruitment of Bangladeshi professionals will help meet the demand.

Speakers at a webinar on Wednesday underscored the need to foster more collaborative engagements in the thriving sectors, particularly ICT, pharmaceuticals and biotech, with an aim to further deepen and strengthen the existing partnership between Bangladesh and South Korea. The virtual meeting was participated by the dignitaries and representatives of the government and other trade bodies of both Bangladesh and South Korea and took stock of the existing bilateral economic cooperation. Adviser to the Prime Minister on Private Investment and Industry Salman F Rahman, who attended as the chief guest, reflected on the achievements and potentials of Bangladesh in the sectors and provided guidance, recommendations and future directions of engagements in promoting cooperation in Pharmaceutical, Bio Industry and the ICT sector. The webinar titled ‘Bangladesh and ROK: Trade and Investment Opportunities’, was organized by the Embassy of Bangladesh in Seoul and moderated by Bangladesh Ambassador to South Korea Abida Islam Also read: Dhaka and Seoul discuss cooperation between Met Offices It discussed and exchanged views on the existing trends of bilateral cooperation especially in pharmaceuticals, biotech, and the ICT sector, as well as charting future course of action in expanding cooperation in these thriving sectors.   Also read: Webinar highlights stronger Dhaka-Seoul trade ties, FTA Dr. Mostafa Abid Khan, former member, Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission, was the keynote speaker.  

Awami League's sub-committee on science and technology has recommended an increase in the allocation to ICT sector in the upcoming 2021-2022 national budget. The recommendation came on Monday in a letter sent to State Minister for Information and Communication Technology Junaid Ahmad Palak from the ICT sub-committee. Read: Awami League announces candidates for 27 local body polls In the letter, Engineer Abdus Sabur, member secretary of the sub-committee said that field level government officials need to get advanced IT training to boost their capacity. Sabur, also the secretary of science and technology of the ruling party, said if the educated young population become proficient in advanced IT, it  will generate self-employment and earning of foreign currency through outsourcing. "In addition, the development of the domestic software industry will accelerate the pace of achieving sustainable development in information technology if it is possible to formulate tax-exempt policies on the purchase of domestic software and increase government investment in developing start-ups," he  said. The committee also presented five-point recommendations for the development of the sector including the initiative to build a sustainable start-up ecosystem, and provide loans to registered outsourcers. Sabur said Bangladesh has become a role model of development in the world today through the implementation of 'Digital Bangladesh' under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. He said "We are preparing ourselves to lead the world in the Fourth Industrial Revolution by building an IT-based knowledge-based society under the far-reaching plan of  Sajeeb Wazed Joy, Information and Communication Technology Adviser to the Prime Minister." Bangladesh has achieved unimaginable success in the ICT sector under his leadership. He said "We want this trend to accelerate. So, it is necessary to increase the allocation in the budget for ICT sector."

The government is establishing 35,000 modern digital laboratories across the country,aiming to encourage and give more access to girls and young women in Information, Communication and Technology (ICT). State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak said this while addressing a virtual roundtable discussion on ‘Accelerating Digital Inclusion for Girls and Women’ as the chief guest. Read Women continue making amazing contributions in STEM fields: US He also stressed the need for collaborative effort in mentoring and monitoring from the Government, non-government and private sector to ensure digital inclusion of girls and young women.

State Minister for ICT Division Zunaid Ahmed Palak has said KOICA’s different bilateral projects in ICT sector since its operation in Bangladesh remarkably helped Bangladesh to establish the pillars of 'Digital Bangladesh’.  He was addressing a function held in a city hotel on Thursday evening.  Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and KOICA Bangladesh Alumni Association (KBAA), jointly celebrated KOICA’s 30th anniversary titled "Deepening Bilateral Ties between Republic of Korea and Bangladesh for LDC Graduation." Chairman of parliamentary standing committee on Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Saber Hossain Chowdhury, MP, Fatima Yasmin, Secretary, Economic Relations Division, Lee Jang-keun, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Bangladesh, Monzur Hossain, MP, President, KBAA and Chairman, Rupali Bank Limited and Young-Ah Doh, Country Director, KOICA Bangladesh Office were present. 

State Minister for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Zunaid Ahmed Palak on Friday said the government’s administrative work did not stop for a single day amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The government has taken a series of mid-term plans to flourish information communication and technology (ICT) through spreading various components of this sector across the country.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday announced 'Light Engineering' as the product of the year to give special attention to this sector for earning more foreign currencies by exporting various products.