Speakers at a programme have urged the government to provide high-speed internet at affordable cost across the country to ensure people's access to available digital services.
They also stressed the need for bringing down the prices of digital devices by adjusting tax rates and promoting local manufacturers.
Besides, they suggested creating sector-specific skilled human resources for digital transformation of both government and private services in a bid to fulfil the vision of 'Digital Bangladesh'.
Read more: BD: Govt urged to provide high-speed internet at affordable cost
Japanese ambassador to Bangladesh ITO Naoki said that his country was keen to work together with Bangladesh to develop smart city.
‘We are contributing in many areas including infrastructure development in Bangladesh and Japan is now interested to develop smart city,’ he said during a bilateral meeting with state minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak at the latter’s office at ICT Division in Dhaka on Sunday.
Read more: BD: Japan wants to develop smart city in Bangladesh
- Bangladesh's strongly performing economy is being driven by the ready-made garments (RMG) sector.
- Receiving payment digitally has multiple benefits for the sector's 4 million workers.
- The UN's Better Than Cash Alliance and the newly established ILO Global Centre on Digital Wages for Decent Work are working to remove barriers to digital payment.
As we grapple with the challenges presented by the pandemic, Bangladesh continues to clock impressive growth and is in fact an outlier in the global economic scenario. Its gross domestic product (GDP) grew an estimated 5.2% in 2020 and is likely to grow 6.8% this year. In comparison, the global economy shrank 3.5%. Among Bangladesh’s neighbours, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and India are facing GDP contractions.
Read more: How digital payment systems can boost Bangladesh's push to meet the SDGs
Robi Axiata and Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) Thursday "to build a smart Dhaka."
DNCC Chief Town Planner Maqsud Hashem and Robi Managing Director and CEO Mahtab Uddin Ahmed signed the MoU at Nagar Bhaban in Gulshan.
Under the agreement, initially, there are plans to set up active network infrastructure in 100 lampposts of DNCC as per the policy of the regulatory body and build smart city surveillance or digital surveillance systems for the safety of the citizens.
Read more: BD: Robi, DNCC sign deal 'to build a smart Dhaka'
Bangladesh suffered a drop in the 'Inclusive Internet Index 2021' among 120 countries compared to its position in 2020, according to a latest global report.
The country has ranked 82nd on the list this time while it ranked 79th in 2020, showed the index report, commissioned by Facebook and conducted by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
Read more: Bangladesh drops to 82nd in Internet index among 120 countries