DHAKA, Sept 13, V7N — BNP national standing committee member and Prime Minister's Adviser on Public Administration Md Ismail Zabihullah today said artificial intelligence (AI) should not be viewed merely as a technology but as a programme to enhance Bangladesh's productivity and competitive capacity.
He said AI is changing the nature of product design, service delivery and business competition.
The adviser said this as chief guest at a roundtable titled "AI for Bangladesh's Next Growth Phase: Productivity, Governance and Readiness", organised by the Ministry of Science and Technology at Dhaka's Novo Theatre on the occasion of the "Bangladesh Innovation Fair-2026".
"AI must be citizen-centric, with human welfare as its objective," he said.
Zabihullah said countries that can generate real economic benefits through AI will lead in the future.
He identified significant opportunities for AI applications in Bangladesh's ready-made garment and manufacturing industries, agriculture, supply chains, financial services, healthcare, education and public administration.
AI adoption in these sectors must be increased to enhance productivity and efficiency while also increasing its contribution to GDP, he said.
The adviser said Bangladeshis are talented, but talent alone cannot create national capacity.
"Talent must be transformed into research, research into innovation, innovation into enterprise, and enterprise into employment and exports," he said.
Emphasizing the need for an effective platform, he said the government would identify problems, universities and researchers would develop solutions, entrepreneurs would commercially utilise them, industries would conduct pilot applications and investors would help expand successful ventures.
He said responsibility also increases with the use of AI, making data privacy, cyber security, data classification, computing capacity and electricity supply extremely important.
AI strategy, he added, cannot be separated from local realities, data systems and skills development, he added.
Science and Technology Ministry Secretary Md Anwar Hossain said the ministry is bringing scientists, researchers, innovators, AI researchers, startups, investors, industry representatives, academics and development partners onto a single platform.
The three-day "Bangladesh Innovation Fair-2026" is themed "Innovate to Market" and focuses on sustainable partnerships among innovators, policymakers, entrepreneurs, investors, educational and financial institutions and development partners.
The event was moderated by BUET Professor and UNESCO Chair on Industry Integration in Higher Education Systems Dr Muhammad Anisuzzaman Talukder.
Senior officials, scientists, researchers, innovators, entrepreneurs, investors, academics and representatives of industry, business and financial institutions attended the event.
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