Palak called for the formation of a global alliance on cyber security
The ICT State Minister of Bangladesh Zunaid Ahmed Palak urged all states to unite to build a safe digital world and suggested formation of a global alliance.
The state minister made this call at the opening ceremony of the second general session of the three-day Digital Corporation Organization (DCO) conference, which began at the Fairmount Hotel in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia on Sunday.
He said Bangladesh has invested in our cyber security capabilities since 2016 and recently ranked 32nd globally and first in Southeast Asia in the National Cyber Security Index. But cyber security is one area where we cannot go it alone. Every nation must work together to counter threats in cyberspace. Information must be shared. We have already created partnerships with many countries and organizations. So I would like to urge all member countries of DCO – let us all work together to form a global coalition to ensure a secure digital world.
"Digital Cooperation Organization Secretary General Mrs. Dima Al Yahya moderated the 13 member states ministers and observer representatives of the United Nations Digital Coordinating Organization (DOCO) along with the Gulf Cooperation Council participated in this panel discussion. In the discussion, the participants outlined the sustainable economic and social development in digital transformation. This is the first time in the two years of the journey that the ministers participating in this session are getting an opportunity to meet each other individually.
The ICT State Minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak expressed his interest in holding the third session in Bangladesh next year by joining the conference.
He said that under the visionary and prudent leadership of the honorable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh has achieved the vision of Digital Bangladesh. Now we have set a new vision to build Smart Bangladesh by 2041. As smart cities and smart countries is no longer an option for life but an absolute necessity. But there is an absence of technical international cooperation; which did not allow like-minded countries to strengthen their ties with each other. Hence the ICT Division of Bangladesh is keen to work together to develop artificial intelligence capabilities through innovative transformative solutions as Bangladesh always trusts the partnership and cooperation of Saudi Arabia.
He also said that artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, micro processor designing and manufacturing, and cyber security have become very important for all countries of the world today. He also said that Data Protection Act has been introduced to protect privacy and data of citizens.
The State Minister said that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has implemented Digital Bangladesh based on four main pillars of human resource development, e-government, connectivity and industry promotion. Development of ICT sector in last 14 years has resulted in creation of 2 million jobs in IT/ITES sector. ICT sector is earning 1.4 billion dollar export income. There are 52 thousand government websites in Bangladesh.
Mentioning that there are 650,000 freelancers in the country, he also said that Bangladesh is the second largest country in the online work force. Various programs including incubation centers have been implemented in various universities to make talented youth of the country skilled in technology. As a result of various technology-friendly policies, the country is moving from a labor-based economy to a digital economy. 500 crore taka has been earmarked by the government to create the startup ecosystem. Out of this, 392 people have been given startup equity funds. He said that we have already successfully implemented Digital Bangladesh. By 2041, we have started working on building a cost-effective, sustainable, intelligent, knowledge-based, innovative Smart Bangladesh based on the four main pillars of Smart Citizen, Smart Economy, Smart Government and Smart Society.
Before this, a meeting was held between Minister of State for Information and Communication Technology Zunaid Ahmed Palak and Saudi Company for Artificial Intelligence- SCAI Chief Executive Officer Ayman Al Rashed and Chief Investment and Partnership Officer Mr Abdullah Aljawani. The meeting discussed in detail how both countries can work together to develop artificial intelligence (AI). SCAI of Saudi Arabia and senior officials of Bangladesh were present in the meeting.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabian company SCAI has expressed interest in working with Bangladesh in developing artificial intelligence (AI). It was informed in the meeting that a method of how both countries will jointly work on this matter will be fixed.
Later, the State Minister invited the Chief Executive Officer of SCAI to visit Bangladesh to see the development and progress of the IT sector in Bangladesh. In the morning, Chairman of Saudi Telecommunication Company (STC) Mohammad K. Al Faisal and the ICT State Minister sat in a meeting. They also visited the Riyadh Front Expo Exhibition Center at the invitation of Mrs. Dima Al Yahya, Secretary General of the Digital Cooperation Organization.
