Information and Communication Technology Secretary Sheesh Haider Chowdhury. Photo : BSS

CHATTOGRAM, Jan 18, 2025 (BSS) - Information and Communication Technology Secretary Sheesh Haider Chowdhury said the interim government has taken initiative to launch PayPal in Bangladesh to bring back earnings of freelancers easily.  

He also promised to talk with NBR Chairman to reduce the import duty on IT related accessories and equipment in the next budget. 

The ICT Secretary spoke at inaugural ceremony as the chief guest in a 3-day 6th Chattogram IT Fair-2025 at city’s Agrabad World Trade Center (WTC) today. The fair is being organized jointly by Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCC&I) and the Society of Chittagong IT Professionals (SCITP) at WTC premises. 

Administrator of CCCI and Additional Divisional Commissioner Anwar Pasha presided over the inaugural function while Divisional Commissioner Dr. Md. Ziauddin was the special guest.

Terming IT sector as a vital for overall development of the country,  Sheesh Haider Chowdhury said ICT Department has been working on capacity building to develop innovation and entrepreneurship in the information technology sector to expand the size of the country's economy. 

“For this, innovation hubs and ICT parks have been built in collaboration with universities for the development of this sector by coordinating between academia and industry,” he added.

The IT Secretary said young generation is earning lakhs of crores of taka through freelancing. But due to the lack of appropriate channels, they have been facing difficulties to bring back their earned money easily. 

Deputy Secretary of the Information and Communication Technology Mohammad Saiful Hasan, Additional District Magistrate of Chattogram Syed Mahbubul Haque, President of the Society of IT Professionals Abdullah Farid, Country Manager of the fair's silver sponsor SFOJ AHM Mohsin and Technology Partner Link 3's Faisal Bin Amin, among others, also spoke on the occasion.

 Around 40 IT and solution-based organizations from home and abroad including India, China, USA and UK are participating in the fair with installing 60 stalls to showcase their products and services.