Momen for taking more initiatives under PPP in ICT

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DHAKA, Oct 14, 2019 (BSS) – Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen today
underlined the need for taking more initiatives under public-private
partnership (PPP) in ICT sector, terming Bangladesh as a perfect platform of
innovation.

“Bangladesh’s ICT sector has grown by 40 percent annually since 2010,
thanks to public-private sector initiatives and facilitation from the
government,” he said.

The foreign minister was addressing the inaugural session of the three-day
first-ever Digital Device and Innovation Expo-2019 at Bangabandhu
International Conference Centre (BICC) in the city.

Momen said ‘Vision 2021’ and ‘Digital Bangladesh’ is no more a dream, it’s
a reality today.

Emergence and advent of spread of ICT industry, tools and norms have truly
uplifted lives and livelihoods of people across the country.

He said the government was quick in identifying the ICT industry as a
thrust sector.

“Consequently, within just one decade, you all have seen significant job
creation, growth in output, improvement in governance,” he added.

For Bangladesh, Momen said there is no option but to make right choice and
take adequate preparation so that the country’s youths and industries can
fully utilize this advantage of technology.

“The government has stepped forward and we think the private sector will
reciprocally move ahead,” he added.

Mentioning that the government has declared tax holiday till 2024, 1%
import tax for materials of hardware industry and exceptional cash incentive
of 10% for ICT export, the foreign minister hoped that not only the local
entrepreneurs, but also the foreign investors will be greatly encouraged to
take the rare advantages offered by the government.

Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority, Information Communication Technology
(ICT) Division, Bangladesh Computer Samity (BCS), and Idea Project are
jointly organising the expo.

State Minister for ICT Division Zunaid Ahmed Palak, Chairman of
Parliamentary standing committee for post, telecommunication and ICT ministry
AKM Rahmatullah and Secretary general of world information technology and
service alliance (WITSA) James Posant, among others, spoke on the occasion.

Palak said the government has taken initiatives to make Bangladesh country
as a mobile-phone exporting country by 2021.

Moreover, he said Bangladesh will become a robot-exporting nation in near
future as the government has already taken steps in this regard.