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DHAKA, Dec 15, 2024 (BSS) - Bangladesh Bank (BB) Governor Dr Ahsan H Mansur today laid emphasis on establishing a legal framework for data processing, which would enable efficient sharing of data locally and across borders.

"Bangladeshi citizens spend over US$5 billion annually on medical treatment in various countries around the world. A significant portion of this expenditure occurs unofficially, placing considerable pressure on the country's balance of payments," he said. 

The BB governor said this at a workshop titled "Cross-Border Data Flow: A Bangladesh Perspective," jointly organised by the Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh and the World Bank at a hotel in the city.

PRI Research Director Dr Bazlul Haque Khondker and PRI Principal Economist Dr Ashikur Rahman delivered a presentation on 'Cross-Border Data Flow (CBDF): A Bangladesh Perspective'.

Deputy Director (Marketing and Branding) of Bangladesh Tourism Board Mohibul Islam, Focal Point (UHC and National Health Accounts) of Health Economics Unit (HEU) and Health Services Division (HSD) under Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Dr Subrata Paul and Deputy Managing Director (DMD) and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the BRAC Bank PLC Md Sabbir Hossain were distinguished panelists.

PRI Research Director Dr Bazlul Haque Khondker delivered the opening remarks while Digital Development Specialist of the South Asia of the World Bank Nidhi Parekh presented the background of the project.

PRI Chairman Dr Zaidi Sattar delivered the closing remarks.

Dr Mansur said Bangladeshis mainly go to India and Thailand as the healthcare systems in these countries are much improved than the local healthcare system. 

Speakers at the workshop observed that there is an urgent requirement for dialogue among the Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka (BBINS) countries to ease the constraints on data transfer between nations. 

Facilitating the seamless exchange of information and data flow would undoubtedly enable researchers to explore new avenues, they mentioned.

Keeping the significance of this in mind, they opined, the study titled "Cross-border Data Flow (CBDF): A Bangladesh Perspective" has been conducted under the project "Enabling Cross-Border Data Flows within BBINS towards Regional Integration," funded by the World Bank.