Shama Obaed Islam, state minister for Foreign Affairs, said discussions were held with various high-tech companies, including Apple, Google, Nvidia, Meta and Cisco, in Silicon Valley about investment in Bangladesh and the possibility of setting up manufacturing units in the country.

She said they discussed foreign direct investment and how manufacturing units could be established in Bangladesh.

She made the remarks while responding to journalists about her visit to Silicon Valley in the United States at a press briefing held at the new building of the foreign ministry in the capital on Sunday.

The state minister said, “Our ICT Ministry is in contact with Intel. As I said earlier, the purpose of our visit was to explore how Bangladesh can be transformed into a technology hub.”

Saying that meetings were held with Google, Apple, Meta, Cisco, Nvidia, Plug and Play and various other companies during the Silicon Valley visit, she said more than 15 meetings were held during the two-day trip. The meetings covered direct foreign investment as well as the possibility of setting up manufacturing units in Bangladesh.

She said, “We discussed direct FDI with the companies we met. They want to invest here, and we discussed how manufacturing units could be established.”

The state minister said the meetings also discussed the potential for developing technology by harnessing the talent of young people in Bangladesh. She said, “We also discussed how they can harness the talent of our young people in Bangladesh to develop technology here.”

She said Google is interested in working in Bangladesh’s education sector. Shama Obaed Islam also noted that work on a collaboration in this area is already underway. Nvidia has similarly expressed interest in working with Bangladesh on artificial intelligence.

She said, “We all know that Google is an expert in this field. They’re very interested in working in our education sector, and a collaboration is already underway. Nvidia has said it’ll work with us on AI.”

Saying that meetings had been held with Silicon Valley companies with the aim of transforming Bangladesh into a technology hub, the state minister said the discussions were broad and coordinated. As the visit had only just concluded, she said it would take some time to see the results.

Shama Obaed Islam said, “These meetings have only just taken place. We’ll be able to see the results in a few more months.”

She stressed the importance of maintaining continued engagement with Silicon Valley. She said Bangladeshis working there had also shown interest in the government’s initiative. Bangladeshis holding senior positions at major technology companies had expressed their willingness to support the government in various ways to help advance the country technologically.