On Sunday, A seminar titled ‘Reaching US$ 5 billion ICT Export Earnings by 2025’ was held as a part of the closing day of BASIS SoftExpo 2023 organized by Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS) was held at the Bangabandhu Bangladesh-China Friendship Exhibition Center at Purbachal.
H. E. Charles Whiteley, Ambassador and Head of Delegation, European Union was present as the chief guest. Mr. Shamsul Arefin, Secretary, Information and Communication Technology Division, was also present as the special guest.
The keynote speaker at the event was the chairman of Research and Policy Integration for Development (RAPID) Dr. Mohammad Abdur Razzaque.
He said, “I know a little bit about the ICT industry. Bangladesh needs to cover ninety percent of Europe with its services. Bangladesh has the opportunity to be a part of the European chain of Commerce though Bangladesh has few drawbacks such as slow internet. The government of Bangladesh, ICT industry and the European Union are interested in establishing partnerships for working together in the ICT sector.
Md. Shamsul Arefin said, congruous leadership has already established the Digital Bangladesh. During the corona pandemic, we have seen restless efforts to solve problems technically. We have already founded up many specialized science and technology universities and built advanced incubation centers and high-tech parks in order to create skilled human resources. Bangladesh definitely has the potential to earn US$ 5 billion ICT export earnings by 2025. We all have to work together to create a smart Bangladesh.
Panelists included, Mr. Rashid Kabir, Director of BASIS; Mr. Dexter Riley, CEO, United Independent Petroleum Marketing Company Limited (UNIPET) and Mr. Dato’ Eric Ku yee fei. The seminar was moderated by Mr. TIM Nurul Kabir, Chairman, Standing Committee on International Market Development, BASIS.
According to panelists, from agriculture to manufacturing the use of ICT is limitless. We cannot be competitive. The expansion of the use of ICT will be far beyond export income. The post covid period is the rise of ICT lead in the world. Compared to other countries, Bangladesh’s internet cost is cheap but slow. Employers report that freshers lack critical skills to make them job-market ready.
Speakers said that Bangladesh has a pool of talent. In IT industry, the biggest capital is human resource. Bangladesh is a rising star in IT services. As the apex of ICT services, BASIS has a vital role to play. Every month there are job recruitments. We have to learn advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence, machine learning and IoT, along with programming languages.
They have also added, Bangladesh shouldn’t just focus on the US, UK or Japan to collaborate with. There are other potential destinations for IT services like countries of Latin America and Africa. Our marketing strategy is not up to the mark. This industry will develop due to access to the global market. But young entrepreneurs do not get access easily. The European Union should consider allowing them access to the global market.
