DHAKA, Aug 29, 2024 (BSS) - Ambassador of France in Dhaka Marie Masdupuy paid a courtesy call on Information and Broadcasting Adviser Nahid Islam at the latter's office at secretariat here today.

During the meeting, the adviser welcomed the ambassador to the independent Bangladesh which was recently achieved through the mass uprising of students, a press release said.

Nahid, also Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Adviser, mentioned that the people of Bangladesh have always been interested in France.

He said that despite hearing about Digital Bangladesh and Smart Bangladesh for several years, there has been a lot of corruption and irregularities in this regard.

The people of Bangladesh have not fully benefited from the amount of money invested in these projects, he said, adding: "We, initially, are investigating the places where corruption has taken place."

There are opportunities to work in the ICT sector of Bangladesh as the country's youth are proficient in information technology and are keen to work in this sector, Nahid said.

The adviser also said that the youth will do much better in the IT sector if they get incentives.

When Ambassador Marie Masdupuy expressed interest in providing training to Bangladeshis on cyber security by the French government, the adviser said cyber security has now become as important as border security.

In this case, if the youth and officials of the country can take this training, it will be good for the country, he added.

When Ambassador Marie Masdupuy praised the steps taken by the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology in the recent floods, the adviser said that communication with the flood victims was very important, so the internet was made free in the flood affected areas.

VSAT (Very Small Aperture Service) has been installed in some districts, Nahid said, adding that fuel of generator has been made free for ensuring uninterrupted power supply to mobile towers and it has been decided to install V-SAT in every district of the country so that it is possible to communicate with the concerned areas in any disaster smoothly.

Both of them ended the meeting with the pledge of ensuring mutual cooperation in the days to come.

Secretary of the Posts and Telecommunication Division Dr Md Mushfikur Rahman, Secretary of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Division Md Shamsul Arefin and senior officials of the ministries concerned were present, among others, on the occasion.