As the first step for the implementation of a master plan, a two-day session of Asia-Pacific Information Superhighway (APIS) of UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) will begin in Dhaka on November 1, reports BSS.

The steering committee session, expected to be attended by the representatives of 100 countries, will take some important decisions for implementation of the four pillars - connectivity, internet traffic management, e-resilience and broadband - for all as stipulated in the master plan, said a press release.

Bangladesh was elected president of the Working Group of APIS of UN ESCAP at the second meeting of the Working Group of APIS held in Guangzhou of China on August 29 and 30 in 2016.

“Bangladesh has been playing a significant role as the chair of the Working Group on the Asia-Pacific Information Superhighway (APIS),” said State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak.

He said the working group finalizes the master plan to implement APIS for ensuring seamless communication network in Asia-Pacific region in cooperation with the ESCAP members and associate members along with the international and regional partners.

“So, the first session of the APIS Steering Committee will direct us towards the effective way to operationalize the APIS master plan,” Palak said, hoping that this meeting would be a landmark for achieving SDGs through regional cooperation. Dhaka is ready to welcome all of the foreign delegates, he said.

“The first session of the steering committee will address the regional layer around the four pillars as stipulated in the master plan,” said Banamali Bhowmick, director general of Department of ICT (DoICT), who had attended the second meeting on the APIS Working Group.

It’s very important to define tasks to implement the master plan after reviewing the already-implemented and ongoing projects of the plan, Bhowmick said.

He said the APIS steering committee session will help finding out regional and sub-regional implementation plans of the APIS initiatives and indentifying the challenges and opportunities in implementing the initiatives.