07 June 2022 - As part of fostering closer ties between the Philippines and Bangladesh in the use of ICT for rural development, a delegation from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) headed by Deputy Minister Sukarno Abas visited Bangladesh for a learning visit.

At their welcome event at Bangladesh’s ICT Division, Ambassador Alan L. Deniega said that the two countries have common experiences to share and collaborate, since both are still developing nations. Aside from cooperation in disaster management, the deployment of ICT capacities at the grassroots level is another area in which much can be learned from the progress that Bangladesh has achieved since 2008.

From the time that the Philippines recognized Bangladesh as a country 50 years ago, it has made many stellar accomplishments that has finally enabled it to graduate from LDC status. Today, Bangladesh has one of the most tech savvy populations in the world, boosted by the vast digital transformation in the country through concerted efforts of the Bangladeshi government to achieve the vision of a Digital Bangladesh by 2021.

Ambassador Deniega expressed his hope that the visit will serve as a launching pad for more engagements between the governments of the Philippines and Bangladesh, and a fruitful collaboration among Filipino and Bangladeshi policy makers and ICT professionals towards more efficient public service delivery and productive use of technology.

State Minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak, MP, of the Information and Communication Technology Division of Bangladesh’s Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology, was the chief guest at the welcome event. Ambassador Deniega said in his remarks that Minister Palak is one of the young faces of Bangladesh who will carry forward the country in its next journey of 50 years, especially with the critical role of ICT in national development.

The collaboration between BARMM and the Bangladesh government was made possible by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Bangladesh Government’s Aspire to Innovate (A2i) Programme.