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Dhaka, 28 December 2020: 

On 27 December 2020, a webinar titled “Role of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Bangladesh Missions abroad in the Enhancement of Export of IT Products and IT Enabled Services” was organized by International Trade, Investment and Technology Wing of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to identify the challenges and prospects of the IT sector in Bangladesh in the post-Covid-19 global situation. The webinar was co-chaired by Foreign Secretary (Senior Secretary) Mr. Masud Bin Momen and Managing Director (Secretary) of Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority Ms. Hosne Ara Begum, ndc. The webinar was attended by officials of government and non-government organizations related to the IT sector and Bangladesh envoys abroad.

The steps required to increase export of IT products and services of Bangladesh and to create new export markets were discussed in this webinar. The participants at the meeting expressed their thoughtful views on the issue. The Foreign Secretary expressed that the government of Bangladesh under the visionary leadership of Hon'ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been working towards achieving the goal of becoming a developed country by 2041, and the ICT sector has a huge role to play in achieving this goal. He indicated that currently, Bangladesh's export earnings from the ICT sector stood over US$01 billion and in the coming days Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT), 5G, etc. would cover most of the ICT sector businesses, and entrepreneurs needed to focus more on those areas. He assured the representatives of various IT companies present at the meeting that necessary guidelines would be provided to the Bangladesh missions abroad to implement the recommendations coming out of this webinar.

Managing Director (Secretary) of Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority highlighted the various steps taken by the government for the development of IT sector and made a power point presentation on various high-tech parks established including the multifarious incentives for prospective investors. Entrepreneurs from the IT sector present at the meeting pointed out the potential of Bangladesh's IT sector and sought the active role of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Bangladesh Embassies in achieving the targets set by the government in this sector. They lauded the timely imitative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for organizing this webinar in order to facilitate exchange of views among the relevant players of this sector. Heads of Bangladesh missions abroad, who participated in the virtual meeting, discussed the prospects and challenges vis-à-vis the enhancement of Bangladeshi IT exports in their areas of jurisdiction and inflow of FDI to Bangladesh and put forward relevant suggestions in this regard. 

The webinar was successfully concluded with the participation of a large number of representatives from government and non-government organizations.