Netherlands-IT Connect Portal unveiled

After London, a new door was opened today for IT companies and entrepreneurs to get investment facilities in the Netherlands while staying in the country. As a token of the golden Jubilee of the friendship between Bangladesh and The Netherlands, State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak inaugurated the virtual desk titled ' Bangladesh IT Connect Portal-Netherlands ' on Saturday . AI Bot has also been added in this specialized desk. Launched by the Bangladesh Computer Council (BCC) under the Department of Information and Communication Technology and the Bangladesh Embassy in the Netherlands, the virtual desk will serve as a catalyst for building business relationships with IT companies of the two countries and increasing Dutch investment in Bangladesh's information and communication technology sector. The virtual desk was opened in a discussion session titled 'Netherlands-Bangladesh: Forging a Digital Economy Partnership' which was held on the occasion to mark the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh-Netherlands friendship. The webinar was conducted by Bangladesh's Ambassador to the Netherlands M Riaz Hamidullah. Speeches were made by Royal Dutch Shell Program Manager Kabir Siraj, Martin Roelfus, Founder of Amsterdam-based Planet Nine, Uber Amsterdam's Head of Innovation Products portfolio Zulkar. IT-ITES expert Sami Ahmed highlighted various aspects about the preparedness and initiatives of Bangladesh in digital economy. In the presentation, he showed that more than 70 ICT exporters of the country have uploaded their profiles on the virtual platform 'Bangladesh IT Connect Portal-Netherlands'. Besides, there is a list of Bangladeshi IT enterprises and entrepreneurs in specialized ICT sector. The event was attended by EIPO co-founder Justelhelms of the Netherlands, Peter Portheini, co-founder of the Brainport Smart District, and Thieder Culuvas, a senior policy officer at the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Youth Education Work and concerned dignitaries of commerce and foreign affairs issues of  the Netherlands. The Minister of State for ICT as Chief guest said that the Institute of Frontier Technology (SHIFT), Digital Leadership Academy and Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution are being set up to empower and lead the next generation in adopting innovative IT strategies. He said that the fourth industrial revolution has challenges in one hand and immense potential on the other. The government has emphasized on skilled human resources and innovation to meet the challenges and exploit the potential. 300 schools of the future and 35,000 Sheikh Russell digital labs are being established in the country. Idea project in collaboration with innovation and startup, startup Bangladesh Ltd., assistance provided from Bangabandhu Innovation Grant (BIG) are a few of the initiatives from the government. Palak added that trade and investment are expanding between the Netherlands and Bangladesh. The Bangladesh IT Connect Portal-Netherlands is a virtual platform launched to boost business and investment in the IT sector, which will help in the development of technology, BPO and digital economy of the two countries. It also will play a role in increasing the Dutch investment in IT sector. Referring to the country's ICT sector as an attractive investment destination, Zunaid Ahmed Palak said the government is setting up 39 high-tech / IT parks and incubation centers in the country. Domestic and foreign investors have started business activities in 10 parks already built. He said that as a result of digitalization in thirteen years, about 99 percent of the area of ​​Bangladesh is under mobile phone coverage and about 12.5 crore internet users. With the advent of high speed internet, outsourcing, e-commerce, f-commerce and government activities have expanded. Minister of State Palak sought the cooperation of the Netherlands in building partnership in the digital economy through strengthening innovation and business cooperation in the ICT sector between the two countries.