Bangladesh told to follow Singapore in ICT

DHAKA, BANGLADESH: The World Bank asked Bangladesh on Wednesday to follow experiences and practices of Singapore in information and communication technology (ICT) to achieve its vision for a digital country by 2021.

"Digital Bangladesh has generated public excitement and support, challenged the government to new ways of working and thinking ... and solve problems through ICT," said Ellen Goldstein, country director of World Bank in Bangladesh.

"Drawing on the Singapore example, the Bangladesh government's vision of Digital Bangladesh can be a catalyst to improve service delivery to citizens and business in Bangladesh...and accelerate the country's development through the new knowledge economy," she said.

"This technology has become pervasive in our daily lives, and it has so much potential that we have to fully tap, here in Bangladesh," she told a seminar on the occasion of Singapore ICT Day.

Singapore has been consistently ranked as one of the top countries in e-governance and for ease of doing business. Today in Singapore, over 2,000 government services are available online.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina set a goal for her impoverished south Asian country to become fully digital by year 2021 in line with her efforts to improve economy, cut poverty and make Bangladesh a middle-income nation by then.

Her government has started supplying computers in schools in the remotest areas of the country and hiring skilled teachers side by side with offering free education up to grade 12, officials said.

Verghese Mathews, the High Commissioner of Singapore in Bangladesh, said that the e-Government systems aimed at increasing the efficiency of the public sector, and improving transparency and good governance, all of which in turn enhanced overall business infrastructure.

"There is the TradeNet system, which provides a single window for all trade permits and related matters. Then there is LawNet, an electronic filing for the judicial system; and, finally, the Online Business Licensing Services, which delivers integrated cross-agency services through one platform," the High Commissioner said.

"We will follow you to eradicate corruption as Singapore is a corruption free country and a successful model in ICT," said Abdul Awal Mazumder, secretary, ministry of science and ICT of Bangladesh.

He said that over the next 12 years Bangladesh planned to introduce IT systems in all government offices, trade and business to alleviate poverty, create more jobs and eradicate corruption.

Yeong Wee Tan, a senior official of Singapore-based IDA International Pte Limited, said that in the 1960s Singapore was a loan recipient of the World Bank and had since progressed to a point where individual GDP (in Singapore) has now reached $34,000.

"With the help of IT we achieved tremendous success as it is very vibrant in our country and South Asian nations including Bangladesh can reap the fruits of our experiences," Wee Tan said in his presentation.