Japanese investors urged to set up ODC to recruit Bangladeshi youths

State Minister for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Junaid Ahmed Palak on Tuesday called upon the Japanese investors to establish Offshore Development Centre (ODC) to recruit skilled IT workers from Bangladesh. He said this while attending as the chief guest at the virtual inauguration program of ‘Bangladesh Japan B2B IT Business Matchmaking Meeting 2021’, jointly arranged by Bangladesh Embassy in Japan and Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Service (BASIS), reports BSS. “Bangladesh is currently 34th in the World Economic Forum’s Integrated Development Index.

By 2030, Bangladesh will be the 24th largest economy in the world,” Palak told the webinar. The state minister also said that according to the Oxford International Institute, Bangladesh ranks second in the global online workforce.He said that the smart use of ICT in all sectors of the country is playing a role as a driving force in achieving this success.

Mentioning that various programs are being taken and implemented under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina with the aim of creating skilled manpower with technological knowledge, Palak said, 39 high-tech parks are being constructed to provide cost effective services to companies interested in investing in ICT sector.

“Sheikh Kamal IT Incubation Center, School of Future in 64 districts and 13 thousand Sheikh Russell Digital Labs are being set up in different educational institutions,” he said. He said a target of $ 5 billion in revenue from the IT sector has been set for 2025. Referring to Japan as a long-time friend and development partner of Bangladesh, Palak said that the B2B matchmaking program would play an important role in connecting Bangladesh with Japanese IT companies, expanding business, and developing Bangladesh’s IT sector.

NM Ziaul Alam, senior secretary, Department of Information and Communication Technology, Ito Naoki, ambassador of Japan to Bangladesh, Shahabuddin Ahmed, ambassador of Bangladesh to Japan, Dr Zafar Uddin, secretary to Ministry of Commerce, Hayakawa Yuho, country representative of the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) in Bangladesh, Yuji Ando, country representative of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETO) and Syed Almas Kabir, president of BASIS, Fujitsu, also spoke, in the program. Later, Palak officially inaugurated the B2B matchmaking program.

(AA)