Bangladesh to join Global Forum on Cyber Expertise

Bangladesh will join a new international “cooperation” platform to promote protection of the internet ecosystem in the developing countries.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 16 April 2015, 12:27 PM
Updated : 16 April 2015, 01:49 PM

The Global Forum on Cyber Expertise (GCFE) will be launched at the ongoing global conference on cyber space (GCCS) at The Hague.
 
Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali speaking on the first day of the conference on Thursday expressed his government’s intention to join the forum during the conference.
 
He reaffirmed Bangladesh’s growing stake and interest in “cyber diplomacy” as a foreign policy goal.

He said cyberspace was a new frontier in “our common heritage of mankind” and reiterated Bangladesh’s commitment to make it “more inclusive, secure and resilient”.
 
“We wish to work together with all concerned to address the existing gaps in international norms to guide cyber security and safeguard measures,” he said at the plenary session.
 
The two-day conference is the fourth of its kind, an international gathering of more than 1,500 participants from governments, private sector and civil society from all over the world.
 
It is to discuss “a range of policy issues concerning security, freedom and economic growth in the cyberspace from diverse perspectives”.
 
Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte opened the conference on Thursday morning.

The foreign minister highlighted Bangladesh’s recent advances in the sector particularly after the ruling Awami League set “Digital Bangladesh” as an election slogan before the 2008 elections.

He underscored Bangladesh’s vision to ensure access to the internet for all, and promote the use of cyberspace as an empowerment tool.
 
But he said there are challenges for the countries like Bangladesh in the face of “organised cyber crimes and attacks”.
 
He also referred to the awareness building being done in collaboration with the civil society and private sector to preserve the right to privacy and freedom of expression in the cyberspace within an enabling legal framework.
 
He also stressed the need for identifying “a common but differentiated set of challenges” before the international community, and finding the “right responses” to the emerging cyberspace landscape through “multi-stakeholder dialogue and coordination”.
 
Meanwhile, foreign minister Ali exchanged greetings with Netherlands Prime Minister Rutte along with other dignitaries after the opening of the conference.
 
He conveyed to Rutte the “personal regards and felicitations” of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.