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Awami League (AL) General Secretary Obaidul Quader today said technology-based economy is progressing in the country under the leadership of Bangabandhu’s grandson Sajeeb Wazed Joy, who is dubbed as the architect of Digital Bangladesh.
“Materialization of Digital Bangladesh creates employment opportunities for millions of youths in ICT sector,” he said in a greeting message to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s ICT Affairs Adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy on his 53rd birthday on behalf of AL.
Quader, also Road Transport and Bridges Minister, said visionary leader Sajeeb Wazed Joy is taking ahead the country using the youth’s innovativeness and enthusiasm, he said.
Noting that half of the country’s total population is youth, the minister said Joy has remarkable contributions to make the youth dream, help implement their dreams and build them as entrepreneurs.
He is leading the youth in a planned way to prepare them for the fourth industrial revolution.
In the greeting message, Quader said Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s grandson and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s son Sajeeb Wazed Joy was born on July 27 in 1971 during the country’s great Liberation War.
After the assassination of Bangabandhu and most of his family, Joy along with his mother Sheikh Hasina was in long exile, he said. Braving all odds, he received higher education and completed his Masters from Harvard University, Quader said.
In spite of being educated in western education, no fascination could overwhelm him, he said.
Following the ideology of his grandfather Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Joy returned to the Bangalees and gave his acquired knowledge for the prosperity of the Bangalee nation, he mentioned.
The AL general secretary said under the undisputed leadership of Bangabandhu, Bangalee nation achieved political emancipation through long struggle for independence and the great Liberation War in 1971.
Bangabandhu’s illustrious daughter Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina brought economic emancipation for the nation, he said.
To materialize the dream of Bangabandhu and his daughter Sheikh Hasina, Sajeeb Wazed Joy has opened up new horizons of possibilities with the utilization of ever-changing technology and achieved unprecedented success, he said.
In 2007, Joy was named one of the 250 young world leaders, the AL general secretary said.
He said Joy has taken the country to a unique height by implementing a Digital Bangladesh to build the young generation as global citizens in the era of technological development.
He said every citizen of the country is enjoying the yields of the Digital Bangladesh vision of Joy.
Because of the steps taken by him, Bangladesh has made massive development in socio economic indexes, the minister said.
Under LICT project of ICT Division, training is being imparted on 10 modern technologies with a view to creating skilled human resources, he said.
Quader said the education system is being made time-befitting by setting up multimedia classrooms, Sheikh Russel Digital Labs and computer training centers at educational institutions, establishing technical college and training center in every upazila and Sheikh Kamal Training Institute and Incubation Centers in every district.
He said 13 crore people are using internet, 18.6 crore are using mobile phones while 6.5 lakh people are freelancers in ICT sector in the country.
Taka 327 crore private investments are there in 39 hi-tech parks in the country where 13,000 youths get employments, he added.
Through e-governance facility, government services have been expanded and availability of those has been ensured, he said.
He said the people are getting more than 300 government and non-government services through Digital Centers countrywide.
Export earnings in ICT sector stood at $1.3 billion which will be $5 billion in 2025, he said.
These have been possible because of the visionary steps of the architect of Digital Bangladesh Sajeeb Wazed Joy, he said.
Quader said five initiatives of Digital Bangladesh achieved international accolades.
Bangladesh got International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Award for its contribution to expand the use of ICT in sustainable development, he added.
Joy got Asian-Oceanian computing industry organization (ASOCIO) Award 2021 for his contribution in bringing unprecedented change in the country’s ICT sector, he mentioned.
In the countries of the democratic world, the next generation of established political families failed to retain their family tradition, prestige and popularity, but Bangabandhu’s family in Bangladesh is an exception, he said.
All the members of the third generation of Bangabandhu family are talented and highly educated. They qualified themselves at the international level, but they are responsible to the soil and people of the country, he added.