Bangladesh prepares to implement an Estonian X-Road-based data exchange platform
The ICT Division of Bangladesh, in partnership with the e-Governance Academy (eGA), introduced the National Responsible Data Exchange (NRDEX) to public sector leaders and experts at a seminar in Dhaka on 1 September. NRDEX is a national platform designed to enable secure electronic data exchange between government institutions.
The NRDEX is based on Estonia’s internationally recognised X-Road data exchange platform, which has served as the backbone of Estonian digital society since 2001. The NRDEX platform was developed by the ICT Division in close collaboration with eGA and with support from the European Union under the Global Gateway initiative through the project “E-ffective Governance: Accelerating e-government and digital public services in Bangladesh”.
Addressing the seminar, Mr. Faqir Mahbub Anam, Minister of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology and Minister of Science and Technology, emphasised the importance of building a trusted digital government ecosystem in Bangladesh.
“Our ambition is to build a digital government that is secure, interoperable, and capable of delivering services around the needs of citizens. NRDEX is an important building block in this journey, enabling government institutions to work as one connected ecosystem and turn our One-ID vision into reality. We are committed to ensuring that Bangladesh’s digital transformation is inclusive, trusted and driven by innovation, while protecting citizens’ rights and the responsible use of data,” said Mr. Faqir Mahbub Anam.
The NRDEX is one of the key foundations of Bangladesh’s digital government infrastructure, enabling secure data exchange, improving public services, and reducing the time and resources spent on manual data exchange.
“By making better use of data already held by government institutions, NRDEX can contribute to improving public service delivery, reducing administrative costs and helping prevent fraudulent activities. Citizens and government institutions can save time and resources by avoiding repeated requests for the same information and enabling faster access to government services. I encourage all government agencies to join NRDEX and contribute to turning Bangladesh’s digital transformation priorities into practice,” said Md. Mamunur Rashid Bhuiyan, Secretary, Information and Communication Technology Division.
The seminar on National Data Governance, Digital Transformation, and the National Responsible Data Exchange (NRDEX) Platform was organised by the ICT Division and eGA as part of the European Union-funded project “E-ffective Governance: Accelerating e-government and digital public services in Bangladesh”. Through the project, the European Union supports Bangladesh in strengthening the foundations for a more connected, efficient and citizen-centred digital government
The seminar brought together digital transformation leaders and experts from the public sector to discuss Bangladesh’s digital transformation vision and strategic priorities, as well as their practical implementation.
In his address, Mr Rehan Asif Asad presented Bangladesh’s digital transformation vision and strategic priorities, which consist of five main areas: improving the legal and policy environment for digital transformation; strengthening connectivity and public digital infrastructure; adopting AI, cybersecurity, and cloud technologies in governance; and developing the country’s electronics manufacturing sector.
As a practical component of this broader digital transformation agenda, the seminar focused on the National Responsible Data Exchange (NRDEX) and its role in advancing the identity management or One-ID approach.
The seminar featured the digital transformation experts from eGA, who shared their lessons learned on interoperability and data exchange implementation in Estonia and beyond.
