Bangladesh needs to invest in drones and Korea can be its best partner in the development of drone technology and business, said Korean Ambassador in Dhaka Lee Jang-keun on Wednesday.
"I believe that in realising the goal and dream of Bangladesh to become an advanced country by 2041, cultivating the drone industry and actively applying drone technology is essential."
Mr Lee said this while addressing the Korean drone show at a city hotel in Dhaka.
Drone industry is a leading business for innovative growth and drones converge to advanced technologies such as aviation, ICT, software and sensors.
"It's an untapped market and one of the most promising industries," he added.
Competition for market dominance is heating up. It is changing from a low-cost and small-sized simple shooting to a high-priced and medium-sized one for missions like agriculture, surveillance and delivery.
According to Mr Lee, it is expected that new markets will open in the transportation fields such as large unmanned aerial vehicles in the future.
"The commercialisation of autonomous flying drones will be an important private means of transportation. The world is changing and moving fast."
Korea has built its own unmanned traffic management system based on advanced technologies such as 5G and AI, and implemented advanced automatic control services using AI, big data and 5G-based cloud technology.
At the show, Korean presenters explained Korea's drone industry support policies and regulations, and also public drone use projects, drone sports and other drone-based services of the participating companies.
"We also expect to hear from Bangladesh speakers on the present and future of their drone industry, in particular CEGIS (Centre for Environmental and Geographic Information Services)'s drone utilisation plan," observed the envoy.
The participation of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of Korea in the event signifies Korea's willingness to work with Bangladesh on drones as the ministry is not only in charge of Korea's drone-related policies and programmes, but also runs various ODA cooperation projects.
Through holding the drone show, Mr Lee hoped, both countries can strengthen cooperation and establish communication channels tailored to the needs of Bangladesh drones.
State minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak and Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh chairman Air Vice-Marshal Mafidhur Rahman also spoke there.
