A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between the Pakistan Software Houses Association (PASHA) and the Bangladesh Software and Information Services (BASIS) in Dhaka. A message received here on Friday said that the document was inked by the President of the PASHA, Ms Jehan Ara, and the President of the BASIS, Habibullah Karim.
It said that the signing ceremony was witnessed by Ayaz Mohammad Khan, the Deputy High Commissioner for Pakistan in Bangladesh, Zulfiqar Younis, the Commercial Counsellor at the Pakistan High Commission in Dhaka, as well as senior IT company representatives from both the countries. The MoU has been signed to open up the doors for co-operation between the IT industry Associations of both countries.
With Bangladeshs financial and government sector looking seriously at accelerating the automation of services, Pakistani companies have a clear opportunity to partner with their counterparts in Bangladesh, to provide expertise in products and services hence benefiting the industries of both the countries, said Jehan Ara.
Some Pakistani companies like TPS Pakistan, NADRA, Acrologix and others are already working on projects in Bangladesh, and there are opportunities for others and it is hoped that this MoU and visits, seminars and networking opportunities that will follow, will add impetus to the growing relationship between the industries of both countries, she added.
Ms Jehan Ara said that the other areas of co-operation would include sharing research and experience in the areas of legislation and policy making. Bangladesh, for instance, has recently enacted an Electronic Transactions Ordinance but has no regulation regarding PKI or digital certificates and signatures. This is an area that Pakistan can assist them with, it was further pointed out.
In his address on the occasion, the Deputy High Commissioner, Ayaz Muhammad Khan, expressed the hope that this would be the beginning of more business activity between the industries of Pakistan and Bangladesh. He assured all those present on the occasion of his offices full co-operation and facilitation in ensuring that any stumbling blocks that may exist were removed.