Bangladesh Elected Chair of APCICT

Bangladesh has been elected Chair of the Governing Council of the Asian and Pacific Training Centre for Information and Communication Technology for Development (APCICT), a regional institute under the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). Muhammad Anwar Uddin was elected Chair at the Council's twenty-first session held at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok, Thailand, on 3 September. He currently serves as Additional Secretary of the ICT Division and Project Director (Additional Charge) of Aspire to Innovate (a2i).

Bangladesh stands as one of eight elected Council members for the 2025–2028 term, alongside Cambodia, India, Kazakhstan, the Philippines, the Russian Federation, Thailand, and Uzbekistan, with the Republic of Korea joining as the host country. Under APCICT's statute, the Chair will remain in office until the next regular session.

The meeting reviewed APCICT's administrative and financial status, activities undertaken since the previous session, and its workplan for 2027. The adopted workplan prioritises knowledge-sharing, technical cooperation, institutional capacity, and good governance, aligning training programmes with member States' practical needs.

"This election is both an honour and an important regional responsibility for Bangladesh," Muhammad Anwar Uddin stated. "Our priority is to address the practical needs of member States through effective knowledge exchange and technical cooperation. We also want to share Bangladesh's experience in public service innovation, data-driven decision-making, and inclusive digital capacity development."

During his visit to Bangkok from 1 to 3 September, Muhammad Anwar Uddin also represented Bangladesh at several high-level ESCAP meetings. The tenth session of the Asia-Pacific Information Superhighway Steering Committee (APIS SC-10) took place on 1 September, followed by the fifth session of the ESCAP Committee on Information and Communications Technology, Science, Technology and Innovation on 2 September, and the APCICT Governing Council session on 3 September.

The meetings addressed the Action Plan for Implementing the Asia-Pacific Information Superhighway Initiative 2027–2030, covering three key pillars: Connectivity for All, Emerging Technologies and Smart Public Services, and Digital Data. Bangladesh also serves as a Vice-Chair of Working Group 3 on Digital Data, strengthening its role in responsible data management and digital services.

Bangladesh's ongoing cooperation with APCICT includes the Women ICT Frontier Initiative (WIFI), implemented under the ICT Division with support from the Bangladesh Computer Council. Its updated programme, WIFI DX, trains women entrepreneurs in e-commerce, digital marketing, digital financial literacy, data analytics, online safety, and business continuity planning.
 //DBTech/RIP/SME/MIS//