World of equal opportunities possible thru increasing digital inclusion: State Minister Palak

State Minister for Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Zunaid Ahmed Palak has said that it is possible to create a world of equal opportunities by reducing inequality through digital inclusion.

He said digital inclusion is needed to create universal bridges across the digital divide.

The State Minister made these remarks while speaking as the chief guest at the closing ceremony of a conference, titled "Regional Consultation on Global Digital Compact", organized by the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) at Hotel Intercontinental in the capital on Sunday (June 23).

Secretary of Information and Communication Technology Md Samsul Arefin, UN RCO Representative Gwyn Lewis, Fayyaz Murshid Kazi, Director General (UN&MEA), Foreign Ministry, among others, also spoke at the event chaired by Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen.

State Minister Palak said under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh has achieved significant progress in the field of digital inclusion in the last decade. "We are providing digital government services at the village level through digital service delivery centers, bringing all government services under a single portal, creating technology-enabled skilled human resources and empowering women," he said.

Palak said this is how we have been able to provide transparent, corruption free, fast and efficient government service delivery system. He said, "We are now working on G-Brain, an AI-based government service delivery system that will replace traditional systems."

Palak said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government believes in whole-of-government approach. The ICT Division is working with this approach and sharing innovations and initiatives with other ministries and departments to provide better government services.

He said digital-services have reached remote areas of the country. Villagers are getting online-services due to the availability of internet.

Calling on all the member states of BIMSTEC, State Minister Palak said there should be a whole-of-globe approach to provide smart services to the citizens and achieve the goals.