This is the first issue of the monthly newsletter of the Bangladesh ICT Busi- ness Center (BIBC). BIBC was formally inaugurated on the 11th of May, 2003, at the heart of  Silicon Valley, USA, which in turn is the heart of US and glo- bal ICT industry. The Bangladesh ICT Business Center (BIBC) is bringing a ray of sunshine into the ICT sector and will signal the grow- ing awareness and partnership among the NRBs, the people of Bangladesh, and Government of Bangladesh. This is providing a unique opportunity to make a real difference in the lives of millions of people in Bangladesh. It is vital that this opportunity is not taken lightly, but seriously and all out efforts are made to make the BIBC a glowing success. It is hoped that the success of this endeavor will open up an array of similar oppor- tunities around the world and impact positively in building Bangladesh into a prosperous and successful nation and help it claim the proud position in the world it so rightfully deserves. However,  none of this will be possible without the active support of you, the NRBs, the entrepreneurs in Bangladesh and outside, the Government and the overall   effort  of   the   people   of Bangladesh. This newsletter will try to create a channel between the various groups of interested parties who con- verge for the betterment of Bangladesh and  to  see  the  dream  of  making Bangladesh the next Silicon Valley a reality. Fuad Rahman Editor’s Corner CURRENT ACTIVITIES BIBC Open House: April 13th, 2003 BIBC arranged an open house on April 13th, 2003, to interact with the local NRB community and to exchange ideas and plan for the future. The community overwhelmingly  attended the  open house. In addition to the NRBs, a num- ber of foreign nationals interested in investing and establishing business ties with Bangladeshi companies in the ICT sector attended the open house. This was a wonderful opportunity to exchange views, discuss  openly about possible ways of moving forward and to find out the expectation of the NRBs and how they can actively participate in helping Bangladeshi companies to secure business in the extremely competitive ICT market in the USA. On this occasion, Mohammad Enayetur Rahman made a presentation about the background, objectives and expectations of the BIBC. Questions were answered at the end of the presentation after which light snacks were served. 2 This was the official post inauguration meeting for the Commerce Secretary with Mr. Mohammed Enayetur Rahman, Director of Operations, BIBC, and his sup- port team. The Commerce Secretary was given a tour of the shared office, in- formed of the facilities that have been arranged for the Bangladeshi ICT compa- nies and was introduced to the support team. This was followed by a formal pre- sentation by Mr. Enayetur Rahman on the achievement of the shared office so far, future plans, strategies, and market study on the success of the BIBC project. Meetings Dateline May 12, ‘03 Commerce Secretary’s Office Visit