New York:A single digital identity will soon become the primary means for accessing government services in Bangladesh, according to Rehan Asad, Prime Minister's Telecommunications and ICT Adviser.
According to United News of Bangladesh, Asad revealed plans for this AI-driven Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) during a high-level United Nations event in New York. He stated that Bangladesh is actively developing the system with the intention of launching it within the next 18 to 24 months.
The UN event, organized by the Office of the Secretary-General's Envoy on Technology and the United Nations Development Programme, focused on DPI development and management. Bangladesh was the sole representative from the Asia-Pacific region on the panel.
Asad highlighted that Bangladesh's efforts involve learning from global best practices. The nation is collaborating with Estonia's X-Road, a model renowned for secure information exchange among government systems, as part of its DPI initiative.
The event also addressed global DPI initiatives. Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay are jointly developing cross-border systems, while Rwanda is implementing digital IDs for service access across East Africa. The European Union is moving towards interoperable digital identity wallets, allowing citizens to verify identities and share documents securely.
Asad emphasized that Rwanda's initiative aims to minimize the need for citizens to visit government offices, facilitating services like birth registrations through digital means. He also discussed the importance of regional system interoperability, allowing citizens to use digital identities internationally.
The discussions included security, privacy, and trust in DPI usage, alongside AI's role in supporting these infrastructures. The UN's security initiative seeks to mitigate risks associated with developing digital systems on a large scale.
Asad concluded by underscoring the global significance of DPI and digital IDs in future government service delivery, stressing the importance of international cooperation to ensure trustworthy and secure digital systems.