Bangladesh Elected Chair of APCICT Governing Council

Dhaka, 7 September 2026: Bangladesh has been elected Chair of the Governing Council of the Asian and Pacific Training Centre for Information and Communication Technology for Development (APCICT), a regional institute of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).

Muhammad Anwar Uddin was elected Chair at the Council’s twenty-first session, held at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok, Thailand, on 3 September. He serves as Additional Secretary of the ICT Division and Project Director (Additional Charge) of Aspire to Innovate (a2i).

Bangladesh is one of eight elected Council members for the 2025–2028 term, alongside Cambodia, India, Kazakhstan, the Philippines, the Russian Federation, Thailand and Uzbekistan. The Republic of Korea joins the Council as the host country. Under APCICT’s statute, the Chair will remain in office until the next regular session.

The meeting reviewed APCICT’s administrative and financial status, activities undertaken since the previous session and its workplan for 2027. The adopted workplan prioritises knowledge-sharing, technical cooperation, institutional capacity and good governance, while aligning APCICT’s training programmes more closely with member States’ practical needs.

“This election is both an honour and an important regional responsibility for Bangladesh,” Muhammad Anwar Uddin said. “Our priority is to address the practical needs of member States through effective knowledge exchange and technical cooperation. We also want to share Bangladesh’s experience in public service innovation, data-driven decision-making and inclusive digital capacity development.”

During his visit to Bangkok from 1 to 3 September, Muhammad Anwar Uddin also represented Bangladesh at several high-level ESCAP meetings. The tenth session of the Asia-Pacific Information Superhighway Steering Committee (APIS SC-10) was held on 1 September, followed by the fifth session of the ESCAP Committee on Information and Communications Technology, Science, Technology and Innovation on 2 September. The twenty-first session of the APCICT Governing Council took place on 3 September.

The meetings addressed the Action Plan for Implementing the Asia-Pacific Information Superhighway Initiative, 2027–2030. Its 15 actions fall under three pillars: Connectivity for All; Emerging Technologies and Smart Public Services; and Digital Data. Bangladesh also serves as a Vice-Chair of Working Group 3 on Digital Data, strengthening its role in responsible data management, regional knowledge exchange and data-driven public services.

Bangladesh’s longstanding cooperation with APCICT includes the Women ICT Frontier Initiative (WIFI), implemented under the leadership of the ICT Division with support from the Bangladesh Computer Council and other partners. Its updated programme, WIFI DX, trains women entrepreneurs in e-commerce, digital marketing, digital financial literacy, data analytics, online safety and business continuity planning. Bangladesh’s new role is expected to deepen regional cooperation and create further opportunities to share its digital transformation experience.