The government has begun work on cyber safety, personal data protection and national data governance as Bangladesh moves to strengthen the foundations of its digital transformation, Chief Adviser’s Special Assistant for Posts, Telecommunications and ICT Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb said on Wednesday.
He was speaking at an international conference titled “Building Trust and Sustainability Through Data Governance”, organised by the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Bangladesh (ICMAB) in collaboration with the ICT Division’s EDGE Project in the capital.
Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb said digital transformation should not be limited to app-based or fragmented initiatives and described it as a long-term process of state-level transformation.
“Digital transformation means not just apps, it is the process of rebuilding the foundations of the state,” he said.
He said the absence of interoperability among existing digital systems had become a major challenge, creating difficulties in decision-making and limiting the effective use of artificial intelligence.
The special assistant said the government had already started work on three legal pillars—cyber safety, personal data protection and national data governance—which would serve as the basis for future digital public infrastructure.
He also said digital services would be effective only when citizens had access to secure devices and equal network connectivity, regardless of whether they lived in urban or rural areas.
Looking ahead, he said a system was being envisioned in which citizens would have a digital data wallet, where personal information would be stored securely and data could be used for specific periods based on consent.
Information and Communication Technology Division Secretary Shish Haider Chowdhury said effective data governance required more than policy formulation.
“Effective data governance requires strong institutional capacity, cross-sector coordination and a clear accountability framework,” he said.
He said responsible data use, security and compliance were essential to building public trust as digital services expanded across government and the private sector.
Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Bangladesh President Mahtab Uddin Ahmed said data had become one of the most valuable assets of the modern economy.
“Data has become one of the most valuable assets of our time, and with that value comes responsibility,” he said, adding that professional accountants had an important role in ensuring data integrity, transparency and compliance.
International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) President Jean Bouquot and World Bank Bangladesh and Bhutan Division Director Jean Pesme attended the conference as special guests.
Jean Pesme said Bangladesh had made progress through reforms such as the Integrated Budget and Accounting System Plus Plus (iBAS++) and the digitalisation of pension systems, which strengthened oversight and transparency in the use of public resources.
The conference featured three technical sessions focusing on the implementation of data protection policies, comparison of national data governance practices with global standards and the role of professional accountants in data stewardship and compliance.
Speakers said coordinated efforts among government institutions, regulators, professional bodies and the private sector were necessary to build a reliable and accountable data governance system that supports sustainable development.
