He said this while speaking as the chief guest at the seminar titled ‘E-Effective E-Governments’ at Hotel Pan Pacific Sonargaon in the capital on Tuesday (September 1).
The minister said that a digital government is not established just by having separate digital systems in various government institutions. Instead of repeatedly collecting the same information from citizens, Common Capability, Interoperability and National Data Exchange must be strengthened.
He said that a system for exchanging information among government institutions in a secure and authorized manner must be developed. Interoperability is not just a technical issue; it also involves good governance, common standards, accountability and institutional cooperation.
Fakir Mahbub Anam said that to citizens, the government is not a scattered set of ministries or databases, but an integrated service system. Therefore, the government's digital systems must be developed as a Connected Ecosystem. This will increase efficiency and transparency of government services as well as citizens' trust.
Speaking as the special guest at the seminar, Rehan Asif Asad, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Posts, Telecommunications and IT, said that in the next five years, priority will be given to laws and policies, secure connectivity, digital public infrastructure, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, skilled human resources and electronics manufacturing.
He said artificial intelligence has created a big opportunity for Bangladesh. By ensuring strong digital infrastructure, secure data exchange and open APIs, young people will be engaged in technology innovation. In addition, an initiative has been taken to allocate Tk 500 crore every year for the startup sector.
The seminar was organized by the Information and Communication Technology Division in association with the e-Governance Academy, where discussions were held on digital transformation, data ownership and responsibility, secure information exchange and Bangladesh's future digital strategy. Relevant government officials and representatives from the European Union and e-Governance Academy were present at the event.
