The government wants to create three million job opportunities in the ICT sector, and expand ICT exports to five billion dollars by 2025.
The country has created more than two million job opportunities and made about 1.5 billion dollars in ICT sector's export earnings so far.
State Minister for the ICT Division Zunaid Ahmed Palak made the remarks while speaking at a programme titled “Ambassador Night” organized by ICT Division at a Dhaka hotel on Wednesday night.
The government wants to open new climate for attracting foreign investment as an exporter of ICT products made in Bangladesh through Digital World.
Meanwhile, the State Minister of ICT sought the cooperation of the ambassadors to participate in the Digital World of Finance or ICT ministers from different countries.
Palak said, “We have now brought nearly two thousand government services digitally. 80 percent of the mobile phones sold in the country are now manufactured in the country. We have been organizing this international event since 2011. We invite global leaders, researchers and investors to participate in this event. We want them to visit our market and see our capabilities. We want to be self-sufficient in the digital sector. We also want to work in partnership with other countries of the world.”
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen spoke as the chief guest at the program.
He said that Digital World 2022 will be a unique opportunity to showcase the capabilities of Bangladesh in the technology sector to the world.
“We hope this event will give us an idea of our capabilities and future opportunities in the technology sector. Our people have proved how capable they are. We had a clear target to implement Digital Bangladesh with the guidance of our Prime Minister and the advice from the ICT Adviser. The Bangladesh you see today is the result of the visionary leadership of our Prime Minister. If you have a dream, we can make it happen not only on paper but also in reality.”
Bangladesh wants to move forward with friendly countries in the ICT sector, he said, mentioning that the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman has given us the foreign policy of “friendship with all, enmity with none” and we are following it. We want you (foreign countries ) all by our side in that journey, he added.
The Director of Bangladesh Computer Council Mohammad Enamul Kabir gave a welcome speech at the event.
The program was chaired by The Executive Director of Bangladesh Computer Council Ranajit Kumar.
Among others, the Senior Secretary of Ministry of Foreign Affairs Masud Bin Momen and the Senior Secretary of ICT Division N M Zeaul Alam, the ambassadors including Australia's High Commissioner to Bangladesh Jeremy Bruer, Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey Mustafa Osman Turan, Swedish Ambassador to Bangladesh Alexandra Berg von Linde, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea Lee Jang-keun, Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Bangladesh Essa Youssef Essa Al Duhailan and Ambassador and Head of Delegation of the European Union (EU) Charles Whiteley spoke at the program.
In addition to the opening and closing ceremonies, this year's Digital World 2022 will also feature startup summits, ministerial conferences, BPO summits, e-governance expo, digital devices and innovation expo, mobile and innovation expo, software showcases, e-commerce expo and concerts.
The theme of this year's Digital World is “Be Innovative & Smart”.