Bangladesh's Minister of State for ICT, Zunaid Ahmed Palak, has underscored the importance of ongoing efforts to build an inclusive digital public infrastructure (DPI) as part of the government's 'Smart Bangladesh Stack' vision.

Speaking at a conference dedicated to exploring the potential of DPI and responsible AI deployment, Palak praised the progress made under the 'Digital Bangladesh' initiative but emphasized the need for continued investment.

The Smart Bangladesh Stack aims to provide a wide range of verification and authentication options for the digital identity system by 2041, focusing on accelerating socio-economic development. Planning Minister MA Mannan also highlighted the pivotal role that DPI and AI can play in narrowing the digital divide and driving significant socio-economic development in the country.

Why does it matter?

The global importance of developing digital public infrastructure (DPI) is rising as the UN Development Program announced it will launch an initiative on November 8 to assist 50 countries in creating secure, inclusive, and interoperable DPI. As Bangladesh progresses with its DPI, it aims to address the calls to establish a governing body to oversee personal data management prompted by data breaches, especially concerning birth and death records on a government website.