The European Union (EU) has expressed interest in creating a Bangladesh-EU ‘IT Connect’ platform for matchmaking in the exchange of information between IT professionals.
European Union (EU) Ambassador to Bangladesh Charles Whitley expressed this interest during a meeting with State Minister for Information and Communication Technology Zunaid Ahmed Palak at ICT Tower in Agargaon on Tuesday.
The meeting also agreed to sign a Memorandum of Understanding between Bangladesh and the EU to provide scholarships for research and innovation to talented students in Bangladesh under the EU’s ‘Horizon’ program.
Meanwhile, the state minister said the present government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is working towards the implementation of Digital Bangladesh by setting up four pillars. The country’s ICT sector has stood on a strong footing as a result of taking timely and effective steps in the IT sector in the last 13 years. About 2 million young people enter the workplace every year. Bangladesh ranks second in online labor force. About 0.65 million freelancers in the country are earning about 500 million US dollars from the outsourcing sector. By 2041, various programs are being taken and implemented to move the country forward from a labor-dependent economy to a knowledge-based economy.
Palak added that 300 ‘Schools of the Future’ and specialized labs are being set up in various universities across the country to provide training in new technologies including Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR) and Robotics to build a technology-based manpower to cope with the Fourth Industrial Revolution. He informed the Ambassador that the target has been set to earn 5 billion US dollars in IT / ITES sector by 2025 and ensure 100% internet and government services. He sought the assistance of EU-Bangladesh to work jointly on various issues including ICT.
The EU Ambassador to Bangladesh praised the development of various sectors in Bangladesh in the last 13 years under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The Ambassador said that in a short span of time, various sectors including ICT sector of Bangladesh have undergone tremendous development. He expressed hope that Bangladesh would go further in various fields including information technology in the coming days. The Ambassador assured that the EU would stand by Bangladesh in the development and growth of the ICT sector.
Maurizio Cian, EU Counselor to Bangladesh and other senior officials of the ICT Department were present among others at that time.
