Bangladesh Must Become a Country Capable of AI Application and Innovation: President at AI Business Summit

President Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has said Bangladesh must be turned into a country capable not only of using artificial intelligence (AI), but also of applying and innovating it. He said collective effort must build a Bangladesh that, alongside the proper use of AI technology, will also lead in its innovation.

The President made the remarks on Thursday (November 5) at the opening ceremony of the Bangladesh AI Business Summit 2026, held at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre in the capital. He said the goal must be to be an active partner, not a passive partner, in technological change. Bangladesh must be built as AI-capable, innovation-rich and oriented to human welfare, not AI-dependent.

He said Bangladesh today stands on the threshold of a great transformation, of which artificial intelligence is one of the main components. Over the next decade, AI will largely determine where this change takes the country's agriculture, education, healthcare, industry, trade, employment and overall economy, and what Bangladesh's position in the world will be. He said artificial intelligence is not only a technology of the future generation, but can become one of the main driving forces of Bangladesh's future development.

Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said AI must be used strategically to increase productivity, modernise industry, expand exports, attract new investment and create dignified employment for crores of young people. He said Bangladesh's greatest strength is its huge young population. If young people can be built as technology-friendly and skilled human resources, they will become the main soldiers of the fourth industrial revolution.

He also said international research has mentioned that AI will add trillions of dollars in value to the world economy in the next few years. The President called on Bangladesh to use this opportunity as well. At the time, he emphasised that the business community should consider artificial intelligence not only as a tool to cut costs, but as a means to create new products and services, enter new markets and create new employment.

At the time, he called on universities and the young generation to work together to meet the challenge of graduation from least-developed country status and realise the dream of a trillion-dollar economy by 2034. He said that to get the benefits of AI, the country's youth must be made skilled in technology and well educated. The President said Bangladesh's garment industry has given the country an identity in the world. Similarly, if the country's young people can adopt AI technology with proper capability, they have the potential to introduce Bangladesh to the world with a new identity.

Referring to various initiatives of the current government to ensure the proper use of AI, he said the government has already begun work on a values-centred national AI policy. It has emphasised ethics, human rights, risk-based control and responsible use. Alongside, work has also begun to build Bangla language-based national AI capability. But he mentioned that collective initiative by businesses, researchers, universities and young entrepreneurs is needed in this field.

Referring to the use and expansion of AI in the country, the President said that when a large part of the country's huge population is educated and unemployed, whether AI will create new unemployment must also be considered seriously. He said that alongside great possibilities, there are also risks and concerns in the use of AI. Care must be taken at every stage so that this technology does not in any way assume the role of taking control of everything. He said it is urgent to ensure the safe use and effective control of AI. Otherwise, human civilisation could even fall into an existential crisis.

He said that before adopting any technology, how sustainable it is and how suitable it is for the country must be judged seriously. Caution must be exercised in adopting technology that will cause harm instead of human welfare. Technology is truly useful only when it is used for human welfare and the progress of civilisation. At the time, he called for ensuring the use of AI in harmony with Bangladesh's political, economic and social reality.

Earlier, the President was presented with an honour crest. Those who spoke as special guests at the event included Science and Technology Minister Fakir Mahbub Anam, chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on the science and technology ministry and member of parliament Ruhul Kuddus Talukdar Dulu, and president of the International Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICC), Bangladesh, Mahbubur Rahman. The keynote was delivered by Alamgir Hossain, CEO of Readiness and Intelligent Systems Ltd, UK, and a former professor.

At the event, jointly organised by the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce, Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Taskin Ahmed gave the welcome speech. Science and Technology Ministry secretary Md Anwar Hossain also spoke.