Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka Pankaj Saran on Wednesday said Bangladesh has all the potentials to become a hub of information technology. “It (Bangladesh) has all the conditions to become a hub of IT. Initiatives like the 64 Lab Project are the building blocks towards achieving this goal. We feel privileged to play a small part in this noble endeavour,” he said. The envoy made the remark while addressing a function at the Prime Minister’s Office marking the handover of computer lab in one secondary educational institution in each district with the grant provided by Indian government. He mentioned that today’s initiative is an important milestone in the development of the partnership between India and Bangladesh, the foundations of which were laid by Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during her historic visit to India in 2010. “Building upon the success of that visit, Bangladesh Prime Minister and Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh laid out another roadmap for our cooperation in September 2011,” he added. In the joint statement issued on the occasion of the visit of Indian Prime Minister to Bangladesh, it was agreed that an IT laboratory would be set up in a model school in each of the 64 districts of Bangladesh. The project, which has been executed by a Bangladeshi company, stands completed. The labs will benefit hundreds of school children across the country by bringing the world to their doorstep, Pankaj Saran said. “It’ll make them more enlightened and productive citizens and contribute to the attainment of the objective of Digital Bangladesh Vision 2021,” the Indian diplomat added. He said the development of the education sector has been one of the great successes of the government and people of Bangladesh in recent years. “This has received universal acknowledgement around the world, and serves as an example for all developing countries, including India.” Mentioning a recent IT seminar here, he said the participants identified opportunities for cooperation in the areas of Business Process Outsourcing, software development and testing, training and skill development, and applications in the health and education sectors. Pankaj wished the students of the 64 schools a very bright future and happy learning. “This project gives us confidence that we can do more such projects together which directly benefit our citizens.” Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid spoke at the programme chaired by ICT Minister Mostafa Faruk Mohammad. – UNB
