Press Secretary to the Prime Minister, Saleh Shibly, has said that Microsoft founder Bill Gates visited Bangladesh on a brief tour in 2004 at the invitation of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.
He disclosed this information on Saturday night, 25 April, during a dialogue on the Cyber Security Bill organized by the Bangladesh ICT Stakeholders Association (BISA) at the Banani Club in the capital.
Saleh Shibly said that Prime Minister Tarique Rahman met Bill Gates during a visit to the United States in 2004 and invited him to visit Bangladesh. Responding to that invitation, Bill Gates later made a short visit to the country.
He added that the Prime Minister has always stood in favor of freedom of expression. However, he believes that even in cases of disagreement, decency must be maintained in expression. The Press Secretary also noted that the Prime Minister does not consider abusive language online to be part of freedom of speech. He further said, “The Prime Minister always says that we may have differences of opinion, but we wanted a democratic state. However, the kind of language being used online by a section in recent days is not human language. Using abusive words is not freedom of speech.”
The event, chaired by BISA President Faisal Alim and moderated by Adviser Md. Shamim Azad, was attended by BNP Standing Committee Member and Member of Parliament Dr. Abdul Moin Khan as the chief guest. In his remarks, he said that Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is considering launching free internet services across the country.
Special guests at the dialogue included Information Minister Zahir Uddin Swapan, Administrator of Dhaka South City Corporation Md. Abdus Salam, Press Secretary to the Prime Minister Abu Abdullah M. Saleh, Assistant Secretary for Information and Technology Affairs of the BNP National Executive Committee HM Saif Ali Khan, and BISA Founder and Adviser Engineer Md. Jewel.
Various aspects of the Cyber Security Act and online behavior were discussed at the event. Speakers noted that without ensuring data privacy, digital investment will be at risk. They also warned that excessive regulation and unclear policies could hinder startups and innovation. Additionally, they emphasized that policies would not be effective unless they are formulated with practical realities in mind.
DBTech/SI/MUIM/OR
