Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has emphasized the need for global partnership in digital cooperation to achieve the common goal of future generations. We look forward to a strong global partnership to achieve our common goals, she said.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina made the remarks at a high-level virtual event titled 'Digital Cooperation: Action Today for Future Generations' on the sidelines of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly at the UN Headquarters in New York on Thursday.
In a previously recorded video message, the Prime Minister noted that the Covid-19 pandemic has unleashed the power of digital services and also exposed the digital divide.
The Prime Minister said almost half of the world's population does not have minimum internet access. She stressed on needs to fill the void.
Noting that his government in Bangladesh has set the vision for a digital Bangladesh by 2021, she said Bangladesh has witnessed a major shift in internet technology due to government initiative for digitalization.
She said the total number of internet users in the country stood at 103.48 million. Our digitization has given people a huge opportunity to be change-makers. Sheikh Hasina said our focus on digital connectivity has facilitated economic development and catalyzed social change, including women's empowerment. It is helping SDGs implement and fight the Covid-19.
Since we have set a goal to make Bangladesh a developed and prosperous country by 2041, we want to put our young generation at the center of this transformative journey, she said.
The Prime Minister said she wants to commit to establishing every secondary school in the country as a digital academy and center of excellence by 2030, considering the emerging job market created by the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Ethiopian President Saleh Wark Javadi, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Four, Alibaba Group co-founder and UN Secretary-General's High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation Co-Chair Jack Ma, Among them were Bharti Enterprise founder and chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal, ICT Minister Paula Ingabire, World Wide Wave (WWW) founder Tim Berners-Lee, Express Foundation CEO Anusheh Ansari, UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner and UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina attended the event at the joint invitation of UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Four and International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Secretary General Holin Zhao.