Bangladesh ICT Minister Delivers Welcome Address at UN Public Service ForumCalls for Mutual Cooperation to Mitigate Digital Transformation Failures

Dhaka, 24 June:
Faqir Mahbub Anam, the Minister of Posts, Telecommunications, and Information Technology of Bangladesh, has delivered the welcome address on behalf of 12 countries involved in an inter-regional project at the 2026 United Nations Public Service Forum (UNPSF) held in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Speaking today at a special session, the Minister emphasized experience sharing, institutional capacity building, and mutual partnership among the countries of the Caucasus, Central Asia, and the Asia-Pacific regions. He expressed special gratitude to the Government of the Republic of Korea, its Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the National Information Society Agency (NIA), UNDP, and the Astana Civil Service Hub for their support in implementing this project.
In his speech, the Minister pointed out that the failure rate in the global digital transformation journey hovers around 70% to 80%. He stressed that there is no alternative to sharing mutual experiences to overcome this massive risk.
He noted that Peer-to-peer and South-South Cooperation are not just accessories to development, but a core component of development itself. A successful solution in one country can inspire innovation and progress in another.
Highlighting this year’s forum theme, Transforming Public Institutions: Advancing Innovation, Accountability, Participation and Inclusion, the Minister elaborated on three core pillars. Emerging technologies, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), must work to bridge the digital divide rather than widen inequality.
Addressing the current significance of AI, Faqir Mahbub Anam stated that while AI offers immense opportunities to enhance the efficiency and quality of public services, ensuring AI Governance, transparency, and fairness is critical. Bangladesh is currently partnering with the UNDP to explore the practical applications of AI in public service, policymaking, and sandboxing. Concurrently, within its limited resources, Bangladesh is actively focusing on AI sovereignty, responsible usage, bias elimination, and institutional readiness.
On the sidelines of the forum, the Minister held three high-level bilateral meetings with Vandeth Chea (Minister of Posts and Telecommunications of Cambodia), Vusal Rustamov (Executive Director of the ASAN Innovations Centre, Azerbaijan), and Alikhan Baimenov (Chairman of the Astana Civil Service Hub, Kazakhstan).
During these meetings, the Minister highlighted Bangladesh’s citizen-centric digital milestones achieved through a2i and sought international partnerships for the next phase of modernization based on AI and Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI).

-ত.বি.