Mega ICT expo starts today

Bangladesh opens a mega event today to showcase its achievements in the ICT sector.

Bangladesh Computer Samity, the apex trade association of the ICT industry, and the ICT division will jointly organise the three-day event at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in Dhaka.

President Abdul Hamid will inaugurate the ICT Expo 2015 to promote the country in the global market by enhancing the 'Made in Bangladesh' concept, Zunaid Ahmed Palak, state minister for ICT, said at a press meet yesterday.

Bangladesh imports about six lakh tablets and notepads, 3.5 lakh desktops and 2.5 lakh laptops a year, according to Palak.

“We plan to become a hardware-producing country within a short span of time, and we are inviting leading global companies to come join us.”

M Atiqur Rahaman, country manager of DELL, a sponsor of the event, said they have no immediate plans to set up any plant in Bangladesh.

But Palak said the government gave incentives to entrepreneurs in the last two budgets to set up plants here; from now on, the ICT division will pay more attention to it.

The government is set to declare 1,000 ICT products to be manufactured in Bangladesh, he added.

AHM Mahfuzul Arif, president of BCS, said: “We are planning to build an ICT-dominant country and for that, both the government and the private sector need to work together.”

“We want to recognise the hidden talents of the young generation and help build their skills.”

Both local and international experts will join different discussions on the sidelines of the exposition to share their knowledge about ICT advancement and its challenges.b