The Dream of “Digital Bangladesh” – Vision and Contribution of Zunaid Ahmed Palak (State Minister, ICT Division)
Honorable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina launched the Digital Bangladesh Vision program in 2009 following its declaration on the 12th of December in 2008.
To achieve Her Excellency’s vision of transforming Bangladesh into a knowledge economy by 2041 and a digital economy by 2021, it hopes to be at the forefront of achieving it.
The Dream of Digital Bangladesh
With the help of the four pillars of Digital Bangladesh, which are Human Resource Development, Connecting Citizens, Digital Government, and Promoting the ICT Industry, Bangladesh is on its way to achieving fantastic growth.
Over 120 Bangladeshi companies currently export ICT products worth nearly 1 billion dollars to 35 countries. Our goal is to reach USD 5 billion by 2023.
There is strong government commitment and support behind all four pillars of Digital Bangladesh. In order to make it easier for prospective investors and partners to do business, the government has revised policies.
A number of policies have been updated recently, including the Digital Security Act, RTI, IPR, Broadband, PPP, Alternative Investment, and Telecom in addition to a new AI strategy that they have started developing.
Zunaid Ahmed Palak – The Man with a Mission
Zunaid Ahmed Palak, son of the Late Faiz Uddin Ahmed and Ms. Zamila Ahmed, was born on 17 May 1980 in Singra Upazila under Natore district. Zunaid Ahmed Palak passed the SSC examination from the Singra Damdama Pilot School and College in 1995 securing first division with star marks and letter marks in five papers and the HSC examination from the Rajshahi Govt. College in 1997 secured first division with letter marks in two papers.
He obtained a Bachelor’s degree, a Master’s degree in Political Science, and an LLB from the National University of Bangladesh. Later on, he successfully completed a Capstone Course from the National Defense College (NDC) in Dhaka.
Then, he started his career as a professional lawyer in the Natore District Judge’s Court, and now he is a member of the Bangladesh Supreme Court Bar Association. At the end of his academic career, he joined Bangladesh Awami League, a party that led the nation to its independence.
He got the nomination from Bangladesh Awami League for the national election held in 2008 and was elected by a huge margin at the age of 28 years. He was the youngest Member of the Parliament (MP) in the ninth parliament.
He is happily married to Arifa Jesmin (Konika), who did her Master of Science in Psychology and is a lecturer by profession. They are blessed with three sons: Apurbo Zunaid, Arjan Zunaid, and Anirban Zunaid.
He participated in the UN General Assembly and visited several countries across the globe as part of different official visits, summits, seminars, workshops, and training programs.
All sorts of modern technologies, especially ICT, law & governance, environment, music, and arts are among his fields of interest.
Position Held:
- Minister of State for Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh since January 2014;
- Member of Parliament (National Assembly of Bangladesh) since January 2009;
- Member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on ICT Ministry and Private Members’ Bill from 2009 to 2013;
- President of Bangladesh Carom Federation since 2009 and Vice-President of International Carom Federation since 2011;
- Co-Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Climate Change from 2009 to 2013.
Achievements:
- Nominated Young Global Leader in 2016 by the World Economic Forum.
- He became Minister of State at the age of 33 years making him the youngest minister in the history of Bangladesh. During his tenure, more than 18,000 government offices across the country were brought under a dedicated high-speed intranet, one of the world’s largest web portals consisting of 25,000 government websites established, Bangladesh won ICT’s Sustainable Development Award and WSIS plus 10 Award from ITU and Public Service Excellence Award from WITSA.
- Elected Member of Parliament (MP) at the age of 28 years and became the youngest MP in the Ninth Parliament and was re-elected in 2014. Minister Palak is very active in the Parliament to have an accountable government.
- Secured the National Award on Environment in 2010 handed over by the Prime Minister in recognition of his role in the large-scale tree plantation movement.
- Nominated as World’s 100 Most Influential People in Digital Government 2018 by Apolitical.
Education:
- Obtained Master of Science in Political Science and LLB (Bachelor of Law) from The National University of Bangladesh.
- Completed a Capstone Course from National Defense College, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Profession:
- Minister Palak is a Lawyer by profession and enrolled as an Advocate in the Supreme Court of Bangladesh.
Online & Social Media Accounts:
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/zapalak (Has more than two million fans on FB)
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/@zapalak
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zapalak
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/palakmp
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/palak.mp
- Website: https://palak.net.bd
- Email: me@palak.net.bd
