The Indian information technology (IT) industry wants to share its experience with Bangladesh to explore both-way potentials through bilateral partnership and cooperation.
To this effect, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) wants to set up a skill development institute in Bangladesh in collaboration with the Bangladesh government, S Radhakrishnan, Chairman of the Eastern Region of CII said at a press conference on Saturday.
The IT stakeholders from both the countries were talking at the press conference following a seminar on 'ICT Development in Bangladesh: Opportunities and Challenges' at CIRDAP auditorium in city.
The BASIS, association of software firms, the Bangladesh Computer Society and the India-Bangladesh Chamber jointly organised the seminar with the help of CII.
ICT Minister Mostafa Faruque Mohammed, ICT Secretary N I Khan, Indian High Commissioner Pankaj Saran and CII Chairman of Eastern Region S Radhakrishnan spoke at the opening ceremony, among others.
The Indian delegation members comprising senior representatives from the IT industry led by S Radhakrishnan said they want to explore the Tk 18 billion Bangladesh IT market that is growing at a rate of over 40 per cent.
"We are here not to compete with you, but join and grow together," Mr Radhakrishnan said.
President of the Bangladesh Computer Society Mustafa Jabbar said India has already become a superpower in IT sector while Bangladesh has just begun.
He sees growing of a subcontracting relationship in software business between the two countries.
The collaboration would help Bangladesh learn from India's mistakes during its growth, he said at the briefing.
At the opening session, ICT Minister Mostafa Faruque Mohammed said through this event the door of success and opportunities has opened broadly for creating business relations, improvement of information technology and its future roadmap.
The joint seminar would be a milestone for IT sectors of the two countries.
"The Bangladesh government has declared IT as a thrust sector and different projects are under way to realise its Vision 2021 of the 'Digital Bangladesh'," he added.
Mr N I Khan said the government is presently working for fulfilling demand of broadband facilities. "I hope such kind of seminar and introduction would encourage the Indian entrepreneurs to invest in the Bangladesh IT sector," he said.
Indian High Commissioner Pankaj Saran said IT is an emerging sector in Bangladesh and he expressed the hope that the outcome of the seminar would give concrete ideas as to how ICT can lead to economic development and income generation in Bangladesh.
He said India's announcement of zero-duty access of Bangladeshi products two years back facilitated its IT products 'to have an easy access' to the Indian market.
"The Indian government would provide incentives to the Bangladeshi IT businessmen and make Indian visa easy for them for the sake of ICT development in Bangladesh," the High Commissioner added.
Mr Radhakrishnan said while the whole world witnessed negative growth during the economic meltdown, India's IT industry managed to register a growth of 5.5 per cent.
He said the Bangladesh government "needs to facilitate IT adoption through policies, programmes and incentives and should also facilitate development of quality IT workforce".
He said the Indian industry is 'keen' to invest in Bangladesh to influence its advantage of competitive workforce, natural resources and stable environment.
"Our whole objective is to work together and grow together," he said.
At the brief press briefing, Deputy High Commissioner Sandeep Chakrabarty said they would carry out joint activities even after the seminar.
"There would be a series of collaborative seminars and follow-up meetings to realise the highest possible potentials," he added.
"We have plans to hold workshop focusing specific areas," said Mr Sandeep.
He said the geo-strategic location offers much potential for partnership as "we are close to the vibrant and rapidly growing economies of East and South East Asia".
Statistics show the two-way trade between India and Bangladesh crossed US$4 billion mark with a potential to touch $6 billion in the next two years.
The CII signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Board of Investment Bangladesh (BOI) and India Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IBCCI) in June this year to facilitate bilateral investment and business partnerships.
Currently, software and IT service export is one of the top 15 export items of Bangladesh with export earnings of more than $100 million in the last fiscal year.
The Indian IT industry contributes 7.5 per cent of its GDP.
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Quelle/Source: The Financial Express Bangladesh, 25.08.2013
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