The Dhaka Times Desk Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS) has highlighted Bangladesh as an information technology powerhouse in Central Europe.
BASIS President Russell T Ahmed highlighted this capability of Bangladesh in the 'Economic Diplomacy Week' organized in Austria, Slovakia and Hungary from June 30 to July 1.
The Bangladesh Embassy and Permanent Mission in Vienna organized this special event under the slogan 'Bangladesh Information Technology Industry Prosperity and its Potential'. Back-to-back business meetings were organized in collaboration with BASIS, Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (WKO), IT Association of Slovakia (ITAS) and Honorary Consulate of Bangladesh.
A business roundtable was held on the premises of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (WKO) in Vienna on the morning of June 30. It was attended by BASIS President Russell T Ahmed, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to Austria Muhammad Abdul Muhith, Regional Manager Asia Region of Austrian Federal Economic Chamber Johannes Brunner, AI Austria Board Member (Artificial Intelligence Austria) Clemens Wassner, Director of Advantage Austria Thomas Spazier and David Winkler of EEE Austria.
In the keynote presentation, Basis President Russell T Ahmed highlighted the huge potential of the IT sector in Bangladesh and identified the IT sector as the next powerhouse. He said, “Bangladesh's IT sector is flourishing because the sector is managed by quality and stable human resources. Besides, this sector is being driven by the supportive policies of the government. He presented a complete outline of the IT sector in Bangladesh and highlighted the potential areas of cooperation with Austria and the opportunities of Bitubi. An open discussion session was held after the BASIS president's presentation.
Ambassador Muhammad Abdul Muhith in his speech mentioned the Bangladesh government's incentives for foreign investors and the unprecedented infrastructural development in the last decade under the leadership of Hon'ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, saying that Bangladesh is now enjoying the 'demographic dividend' and the IT sector of both countries can benefit from it.
Johannes Bruner, regional manager of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber, praised Bangladesh's rapid growth in the IT sector and specifically noted that Austria would be happy to be a partner in this journey.
In the afternoon of the same day, the second session of the business meeting was held at the office of the IT Association of Slovakia in Bratislava, Slovakia. BASIS President Russell T Ahmed, Minister and Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) Rahat Bin Zaman and Councilor of Embassy and Permanent Mission in Vienna Tanveer Ahmed Tarafdar, ITAS Vice President Pavlo Frick and ITAS Secretary General Gabriel Fedorko attended the meeting. In the meeting, the IT Association of Slovakia said that Slovakia has a shortage of about 20,000 people in the IT sector. In this regard, he expressed deep interest in expanding business relations with Bangladesh.
Based on the discussion in the meeting, the IT Association of Slovakia also said that in addition to cooperation with Bangladesh, they will soon increase formal activities with Bangladesh by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with BASIS. Basis President Russell T Ahmed invited the IT Association of Slovakia to send a delegation to participate in SoftExpo to explore the breakthrough success experience in the IT sector of Bangladesh and business opportunities in the IT sector.
The third session of the same business meeting was held on July 1 in Budapest, Hungary. It was attended by the Honorary Consul of Bangladesh in Hungary. Zargeli Pataki, Managing Director of EPAM Systems Hungary Bence Vinko, Managing Director of Telemedia Holding Jno Torosic, IBF Hungary CEO Gyozo Vinze, Editor-in-Chief of European Diplomacy and Economics Eric Molnar Jr., Honorary Consul of Namibia in Hungary Eric Molnar, BASIS President Russell T. Ahmed , Minister and DCM Rahat Bin Zaman and Councilor of Embassy and Permanent Mission in Vienna Tanveer Ahmed Tarafdar.
Dr. Jarjeli Pataki in his welcome address informed everyone about the recent development and economic growth of Bangladesh especially the journey towards digitalisation. Minister and DCM Rahat Bin Zaman in his opening remarks mentioned that excellent political relations exist between Bangladesh and Hungary, which should be transformed into cooperation not only in the IT sector but also in the overall economy. Both countries will have to work together to maintain industry-friendly policies along with the remarkable economic growth they have seen in the last decade due to political stability.
Basis president Russell T Ahmed presented the main article in the meeting. He also described the emergence of Bangladesh as the most attractive destination for IT investment, particularly in startups, as well as a significant source of IT/ITES solutions and services. He said that Bangladesh is ready to meet the needs of developed world especially Central Europe. At this time, Hungary expressed interest in more mutual cooperation with Bangladesh in the information technology sector. At the same time, they assured continuous and extended cooperation in the coming days.
BASIS President Russell T Ahmed invited Hungary to participate in the upcoming SoftExpo organized by BASIS in Dhaka from 15 to 19 November 2022. News bulletins.
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