'Dhaka to emerge in global software export mkt soon'

Bangladesh would quickly emerge as a software exporting country on the world market as it has tremendous potentialities to develop the IT sector.

This was stated by the newly appointed Honorary Consul General of Bangladesh in Germany, Arndt Huesges, in an exclusive interview with the BSS in the city Saturday.

"Bangladesh would soon move with a dynamic speed into the international software markets, as its Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is committed to build a 'Digital Bangladesh', is making very high professional fundamentals to develop the country's IT sector", said Husges, a promising German entrepreneur of 33 years of age.

Responding to a question, he said although some neighbours of Bangladesh had already entered the global software export market for a pretty long time, there was no reason for Dhaka to lag behind as the country was blessed with huge energetic human resources and other necessary ingredients to venture on this ever flourishing trade.

"Without going abroad for job-hunting at huge costs, the youths of Bangladesh would be able to earn huge foreign exchange by producing and exporting software sitting at their respective houses," he said adding that they would only create necessary facilities to distribute the local products to international business centres.

"Our company has household software programmes through which we provide services in 12 different languages", he said claiming that no other company in Europe had that capability.

Huesges, also the top executive of Huesges Group, a leading trade and business company of Germany, is now in Bangladesh leading a four-member delegation to explore investment potentialities in Bangladesh and identify the sectors where German investors may come for joint- venture initiatives.

The other members of the visiting teams are: Huesges Group Managing Director Hasanat Mia, Director of Sales of Relexa Hotel Group Tim Zerr and Director of AKH Group Shamim Haque.

Visibly happy to become the Honorary Consul General of Bangladesh, Huesges said he would devote wholeheartedly to enhancing the image of Bangladesh among the German and other European trade leaders.

On their current mission in Bangladesh, Huesges said they would invest in the sectors of IT, tourism, leasing company and efficient traffic management."

"We like to open office and operate Huesges Group in Bangladesh" he said.

When asked the top executive of the German company that has 250 installations in Germany and other European countries, he said initially they wanted to invest 50 to 70 million euros in Bangladesh.

He said after IT, the next priority of Huesges Group in Bangladesh was tourism development that was another sector that had huge prospect and potentialities.

"Initially we want to construct a five-star tourist resort at a convenient place in Bangladesh", he said and added that for this purpose they have already visited Chittagong and sea beaches of Cox's Bazar and Innani.

Huesges totally discarded the notion that, among others, 'women and wine' was a deciding factor in tourism business that was not possible in a conservative country like Bangladesh.

He categorically said that tourism could be developed in Bangladesh showing respect to a country's religious and cultural heritage.

In this connection he said Bangladesh was blessed with picturesque natural beauties, world's largest natural sea beach, mangrove forest of the Sundarbans, oldest replicas of human civilisation and many places of historical interest. These were the ingredients that attracted the real tourists, he said.

Huesges said in a lighter vein that 'women and wine' are abundantly available next door of the foreign tourists in their own homes and what's the hell they would travel such a long distance at such a high cost for such attractions.

"Tourists usually hop from country to country in quest for natural beauties and historical and cultural treasures," he observed.

Huesges informed that since their arrival in Bangladesh on February 15, they called on many high officials of the government, including Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism GM Kader, Minister for Expatriate Welfare and Foreign Employment Engineer Mosharraf Hossain, Commerce Minister Lt Col (Retd) Faruque Khan, Communication Minister Syed Abul Hossain, State Minister for Environment and Forest Dr Hasan Mahmud and senior officials.

"We received tremendous encouragement and cooperation from all of them," he said.

"We believe through our joint efforts, cooperation and strategy for economic development, our existing ties could reach to a new height," he added.