Bangladesh Seeks Investment-Friendly AI Economy

Creating an investment-friendly environment by reducing private-sector risks and protecting investments is a key government priority as Bangladesh moves towards an artificial intelligence-driven economy, said Md. Anwar Hossain, Secretary of the Ministry of Science and Technology. He stressed the need for effective policy initiatives to remove barriers that hinder business growth and encourage technological innovation.

He made the remarks on Saturday at a seminar titled ‘From Digital Infrastructure to AI Economy: Building Bangladesh’s Next Growth Engine’, organised by the American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh (AmCham) at a hotel in the capital.

“The reason is that we need certain policy initiatives—interventions that can genuinely remove the barriers affecting their business growth,” he said.

The secretary spoke about plans to encourage joint research between industry and academia and develop an incentive framework to support such collaboration. He also highlighted opportunities to build the infrastructure required for the wider adoption of artificial intelligence.

The seminar discussed Bangladesh’s ongoing digital transformation, the growing importance of AI and opportunities for technology-driven economic development. Speakers emphasised strengthening digital infrastructure, encouraging innovation and using technology to accelerate economic growth.

The discussion was moderated by Rubaba Dowla, Country Managing Director of Oracle for Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan. Participants included Grameenphone Chief Executive Officer Yasir Azman; Sabbir Ahmed, Country Manager for Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan at Visa; ShopUp Co-founder and CEO Atau Rahim Chowdhury; and Professor Md. Abdur Razzaq, Chairman of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Dhaka.

The participants also explored the potential applications of AI across sectors including financial services, telecommunications and e-commerce.

Alongside the seminar, the three-day US Trade Show, which began on November 5, showcased a range of American products, services and innovations.

Earlier, AmCham President Syed Mohammad Kamal delivered the welcome address at a seminar titled ‘New Opportunities and Challenges in Bangladesh-US Trade’. The keynote paper was presented by Ala Uddin Ahmed, CEO of MetLife Bangladesh.

Other speakers included AmCham Executive Director Chowdhury Kaiser Mohammad Riyad; Paul Frost, Commercial Counsellor at the US Embassy; Mahbub Ur Rahman, CEO of HSBC Bangladesh; Syed Nasim Manzur, Managing Director of Apex Footwear; Fahmida Khatun, Distinguished Fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD); Ali Arsalan, Country Representative of Cotton USA; and Shams Mahmud, Managing Director of Shasha Denims.

In her remarks, Fahmida Khatun said implementation of the US tariff agreement and Bangladesh’s graduation from the Least Developed Country (LDC) category should be viewed as complementary processes.

Ali Arsalan said US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins had recently made specific mention of Bangladesh as part of the ‘Great American Cotton Plan’. The proposal refers to full tariff exemptions based on the use of US cotton in garments. However, the details of how the arrangement would work remain unclear.

//DBTech/IH/SUS/SMP//