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Tuesday | October 06, 2026 | Dhaka

ICT Minister Stresses Trust, Capacity and Cooperation in the Use of AI in Public Sector

 Staff Reporter
 Published: 8:46 PM, 06 October 2026  Updated: 8:49 PM, 06 October 2026

Faqir Mahbub Anam, Minister for Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology of Bangladesh has called for trust, institutional capacity and international cooperation to guide the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in government. “Today’s digital divide must not become tomorrow’s AI divide. That is our commitment,” he said.

He made the remarks today while delivering the opening address on behalf of the twelve participating nations at the two-day Inter-Regional Conference “AI Governance in Practice: Practical Use Cases, Institutional Capacity, Innovation at Scale and Global Cooperation,” which began in Istanbul, Türkiye (6–7 October). The conference is jointly organized by the Government of the Republic of Korea, the Astana Civil Service Hub, UNDP and the Republic of Türkiye.

The Minister said AI is no longer a technology of the distant future but a present reality that is reshaping public decision-making, service delivery and development. “The real question is not simply how fast we can adopt AI, but how wisely, responsibly and inclusively we can govern it,” he said.

Faqir Mahbub Anam outlined three core pillars for effective AI governance:
Trust: AI in government must be responsible, transparent, accountable and human-centred.

Capacity: Technology must be matched by skilled people, capable institutions, sound data governance and timely legal frameworks.

Cooperation: No single country has all the answers; sharing experience and knowledge across borders is the way to sustainable transformation.

Citing Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s address to the United Nations General Assembly, the Minister said AI must help reduce existing inequalities rather than create new ones. He called for global action on technology transfer, capacity building and affordable access to advanced technologies.

Expressing hope that the conference will become a platform for innovation, trust and inclusive technology where no country is left behind, the Minister reaffirmed Bangladesh’s firm commitment to and support for the initiative. He urged participating nations to move from high-level principles to concrete, scalable implementation.

Ministers, senior officials, UNDP and international development partners from the Caucasus, Central Asia and the Asia-Pacific region are attending the conference.