Bangladesh is moving beyond simply putting paper-based government procedures online and redesigning entire service processes around citizens’ needs, Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology and Science and Technology Minister Faqir Mahbub Anam has said.
The success of digital transformation should be measured by how easily, quickly, transparently and accessibly citizens receive services, not by the number of technologies deployed, he said during a dialogue titled “Challenging Conventional Approaches to Governance Innovation and Anticipatory Governance” at the eighth session of the “UN Governance Innovation Summit: Advancing Future-Ready Institutions” in Baku, Azerbaijan, on 6 November.
Technology alone cannot transform public administration, he said. While digital connectivity provides the foundation, institutional readiness is essential to turn it into public benefit.
Before introducing new technologies, governments must identify the problems they want to solve, review administrative processes, remove unnecessary steps, clarify institutional responsibilities and improve coordination among agencies, he said.
The minister identified three requirements for effective governance innovation: capable institutions with clear accountability and interoperable data systems, a skilled workforce equipped to use modern technologies, and public trust supported by sound data governance, cybersecurity, privacy protection and accessible grievance-redress mechanisms.
“Technology will not force citizens to adapt to the government system; rather, the government system will adapt to citizens,” he said.
Anam said technology could also help identify institutional barriers and accelerate reforms, adding that Bangladesh was advancing administrative reform alongside technological innovation.
Quoting Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, he said: “The use of AI, automation and digital technologies can make our administration more efficient, transparent and accountable.” The government was working towards that goal, he added.
The minister said redesigning service-delivery processes around citizens’ needs would reduce unnecessary steps and make public administration more responsive, efficient and accountable.
The dialogue also featured Lesotho’s minister Moeketsi Motsoane, Mauritania’s Brahim Boulkheir and Mexico’s Carolina Plata López. Jeyhun Salmanov, deputy chairman of Azerbaijan’s State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations under the President, moderated the session.
On Saturday, Anam met Ulvi Mehdiyev, chairman of Azerbaijan’s State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations under the President, in Baku.
