New York, Sep 23 (V7N)- Bangladesh is working to establish a single digital identity that will serve as a primary gateway to government services, with an AI-driven Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) system expected to be launched within the next 18 to 24 months.
Rehan Asad, Prime Minister's Advisor on Telecommunications and ICT, disclosed the plan on Tuesday at a high-level United Nations side event in New York.
“We aim to implement the world's best and most secure DPI and digital ID,” Rehan said, adding that Bangladesh has already begun developing the digital identity and broader DPI infrastructure.
He said Bangladesh is drawing on international experiences and best practices while building the system. “We have embarked on this journey. It will take time; there are no shortcuts. However, we are laying the foundation for our future,” he said.
As part of the initiative, Bangladesh is also working with Estonia's X-Road, a digital infrastructure model designed to facilitate secure data exchange and interoperability between different government systems.
The UN side event brought together ministers and senior officials from different countries and regions to discuss the development and governance of DPI. Bangladesh was the only country from the Asia-Pacific region represented on the panel.
Discussions focused on making national DPI systems interoperable across borders, allowing digital services and identities to work across different countries. Participants also examined the relationship between AI and DPI, including how AI can strengthen public infrastructure and how DPI can support AI-based services.
Rehan cited Rwanda's digital initiatives as an example of how DPI could reduce the need for citizens to visit government offices for services such as birth registration and obtaining certificates.
He said cross-border interoperability could eventually allow people to use their digital identities while accessing services in other countries.
According to the ICT advisor, digital public infrastructure and digital identities are expected to become increasingly important to the delivery of government services worldwide.
He also stressed the need for greater cooperation among countries and regions to make different digital systems interoperable while maintaining public trust, privacy and security.
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