The 11th parliamentary election was held on December 30, 2018. As such, there is a constitutional obligation to hold the 12th parliamentary election in Bangladesh by the end of this year or early 2024. However, no date has been set so far. In this context, the INFORMATION technology organizations of Bangladesh have arranged the annual fairs in advance ahead of the election. They are going to hold ‘Smart Bangladesh’ fair this time. Similarly, three trade associations in the sector are preparing for a parallel fair in the same venue. BASIS and ISPAB will hold the fair in October. The e-CAB will arrange the fair in November. However, Bangladesh Computer Samity (BCS) is not getting the green signal to hold smart Bangladesh tech-expo in September, although it was held in Khulna, Rangpur, Comilla and Chattogram (June 7-9). However, the fair may be held in November.
Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS) has organized ‘Smart Bangladesh Summit 2023’ at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) under the supervision of ICT Division from October 5-7. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the fair on October 5. Jatiya Sangsad Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury will be present at the closing ceremony.
On the other hand, Internet Service Providers Association of Bangladesh (ISPAB) will organize ‘Smart Bangladesh Fair’ planned by the Department of Posts and Telecommunications from October 26 to 28. Ten sub-committees have already been formed to implement the fair under the patronage of AMTOB, Walton, Huawei and ZTE and other organizations. The Secretariat of Smart Bangladesh is being opened in BTRC. According to sources, various meetings and seminars will be held in the fair premises besides highlighting the smart infrastructure and services to connect the entire country to a public network.
e-Cab will hold the first ever Smart Logistics Expo at BICC from November 17-18. In collaboration with the ICT Division, the fair will showcase all innovations and automation in the smart logistics sector including e-commerce logistics, warehousing, food and grocery delivery, ride sharing, cargo airlines, CNF, logistics payment solutions, pickup, covered van-bicycle-motorcycle brands, logistics tech and marketing services.
On April 7, 2022, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina announced the ‘Vision 2041: Smart Bangladesh’ to go to the next phase of Digital Bangladesh at the meeting of the Digital Bangladesh Taskforce (3rd). Then, on August 21, the Smart Bangladesh Task Force was formed. On October 18 of the same year, the executive committee of the Smart Bangladesh Task Force was formed. Smart Bangladesh was announced on December 12 and the master plan of Smart Bangladesh was taken in the same month. With the soft launch of those plans, the IT sector organizations are organizing a series of fairs to highlight the future of public-private partnership. As such, BASIS and ISPAB smart fairs will be held in October and e-CAB and BCS smart fairs will be held in Dhaka in November.
