China-supported ICT project completed in Bangladesh

DHAKA, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- The Bangladeshi government, in collaboration with the Chinese government and companies, implemented the country's ICT (Information and Communication Technology) project which brought thousands of government offices across the country under nationwide connectivity.

On Tuesday, the closing ceremony of the project "Development of National ICT Infra-Network for Bangladesh Government Phase-III (Info-Sarker Phase-3)" was held in Dhaka.

Foreign Minister A K Abdul Momen was the chief guest at the program with the State Minister for the ICT Division Zunaid Ahmed Palak as the chair.

Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming, Senior Secretary of Bangladesh's ICT Division N M Zeaul Alam PAA, and CEO (Secretary) of Public Private Partnership Authority (PPPA) of the Prime Minister's Office Md Mushfiqur Rahman were present as the special guests at the program.

Managing Director of CRIG (China Railway International Group Co., Ltd) Guo Wei and CEO of Huawei Technologies Bangladesh Limited Pan Junfeng, spoke among others.

This project started in 2017 with the aim of providing high-speed internet services to marginal rural towns (unions) of the country.

The project, jointly funded by the governments of China and Bangladesh, is providing high-speed broadband internet connectivity to 2,600 unions of the country.

Through the project, Palak said they can really provide all the modern necessary services to the citizens.

"We are really thankful to Huawei and CRIG for their continuous support for building digital Bangladesh," he said.

Speaking as the chief guest, Foreign Minister Momen said Info-Sarker Phase-3 is one of the important projects which has taken an important role in building digital Bangladesh.

He said "In achieving this great infrastructure project, our friendly country China assisted us immensely. We are thankful to them."

Li Jiming said the successful cooperation in the field of ICT infrastructure between China and Bangladesh helps the "Digital Silk Road" and "Digital Bangladesh" to further integrate and will benefit the people of the two countries.

China, as a faithful friend and reliable strategic partner, has always been standing firmly with Bangladesh, exploring more opportunities for cooperation in higher-end industries, as well as achieving a high-quality Belt and Road cooperation between the two countries, Li said.

The Info-Sarker Phase-3 Project is one of the high-quality BRI cooperation between China and Bangladesh, focusing on realizing "Digital Bangladesh," and is a priority project between the two countries.