Remarks by Ambassador Mr. Ghanshyam Bhandari at the Event on
‘Strengthening Nepal-Bangladesh Bilateral Tech Relations’ Jointly Hosted by
Embassy of Nepal, NAS-IT, and Genese Solution
Dhaka, 31 August 2023
H.E. Md. Shamsul Arefin, Secretary, ICT Division of the Government of Bangladesh
Joint Secretary Mr. Anil Kumar Dutta from Ministry of Communication and Information Technology of Nepal,
Representatives from Nepal Association of Software and IT Services Companies
Friends from Genese Solutions
Friends from Media, and
Distinguished Guests
Namaste, As-salamu Alaykum, and Good Afternoon!
It is my honour and privilege to welcome you all to this event on “Strengthening Nepal-Bangladesh Bilateral Tech Relations” organized by the Embassy in collaboration with Nepal Association of Software & IT Services Companies (NAS-IT) and Genese Solution.
I express my gratitude to His Excellency Md. Shamsul Arefin for gracing this event as the chief guest and for agreeing to share the policies and initiatives of the Government of Bangladesh in the field of ICT and innovation.
I also thank Joint Secretary at Ministry of Communication and Information Technology of the Government of Nepal Mr. Anil Kumar Dutta for joining us virtually from Kathmandu.
Thanks are also due to the friends from Nepal Association of Software & IT Services Companies (NAS-IT), Anjani Phuyal-ji and his team at Genese Solution as well as their partners in Bangladesh for coming up with the idea of organizing this event. I am confident that their presentations on today’s theme will bring fresh outlook and perspective for the mutual benefit of our two countries and peoples.
Dear Friends,
I always say Nepal-Bangladesh relations are cordial and ‘trouble-free’. These relations have organically evolved leading to an increasing trend of friendly exchanges and cooperation in the areas of trade, transit, energy, tourism, education, and people-to-people contacts.
The latest addition to this list is the IT sector. In fact, I understand this event is the first of its kind organized to promote bilateral collaboration in information technology and innovation.
Nepal’s booming IT sector is generating numerous career opportunities, promoting innovation and entrepreneurship, and contributing to the overall economic growth of the country. The development of the sector is driving innovation and digital transformation across various areas, such as healthcare, education, tourism, and finance.
It is attracting international clients, leading to an increase in the country’s exports of IT products and services.
With the right investments in education, training, and infrastructure, Nepal’s IT industry is poised to create up-and-coming employment opportunities in cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and cyber security among others.
According to a recent report [published by the Institute for Integrated Development Studies (IIDS), a leading think tank of Nepal], IT service export industry in Nepal was valued at approximately 515 million USD in 2022 representing an outstanding growth of 64.2% growth compared to 2021.
We have over 106 registered IT companies in Nepal offering services globally. The concept of a ‘digital nomad’ has really taken off among Nepali engineers as there are over 60,000 Nepali freelancers engaged in building digital networks and partnerships across the globe.
What stands out is Nepal’s youth involvement in this sector, with 83.5% of IT freelancers falling within the age bracket of 20 to 29. Encouraging youth-centric policies provide a solid ground to harness talent and foster homegrown growth to ultimately help the country in its transition from labor export to service export.
The Government of Nepal remains committed to further facilitating the inflow of investment and the overall growth and development of the IT sector.
Dear Friends,
Given the pace of innovation and rapid diffusion of technology, the field of information and communication technology has changed for countries like ours where the digital divide and access to technology remains a formidable challenge.
Needless to say, in these challenges lies the opportunity to create a robust mechanism to collaborate, share and transfer skills and expertise.
It is heartening to see that Nepal-Bangladesh partnership in the field of technology has been growing steadily. For instance, Pathao, a ride-hailing platform that began its journey in Bangladesh has changed how people commute in Kathmandu after its launch in 2018.
Likewise, Nepali IT companies like Genese Solutions have been offering enterprise solutions to business houses in Bangladesh.
There are also engagements at various levels connecting the IT industries of both countries. Lately, there has been an increasing interest of investors and entrepreneurs from Bangladesh to explore new avenues in this area.
These promising developments provide opportunities for our two countries to forge a mutually beneficial partnership in the IT sector.
The need to is tell our stories and share our ideas, which are, of course, unique and interesting in their own ways.
The need is to leverage each other’s strengths and expertise for a shared goal of growth and innovation.
To conclude, I would like to extend my sincere thanks to you all for accepting our invitation and joining us this afternoon.
I am confident that the deliberations of today’s session will be important to promote cooperation and collaboration in the IT sector between our two countries.
Thank you for your attention.
