Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Saturday inaugurated the two-day National Semiconductor Symposium and BEAR Summit-2026 as Bangladesh seeks to position itself as a global hub for semiconductor and deep-tech innovation.
The premier formally opened the summit at 11:15am at the Novo Theatre in the capital and attended the inaugural session of the ‘National Semiconductor Symposium and BEAR (Bangladesh Electronics, AI and Robotics) Summit-2026’.
At the beginning of the inaugural session, a documentary highlighting Bangladesh’s semiconductor journey and the objectives of the symposium was screened.
With the theme ‘Building Bangladesh’s Semiconductor Future through Global Partnerships', the two-day summit has been jointly organised by the Bangladesh Semiconductor Industry Association (BSIA), the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the Silicon River Bangladesh programme.
The summit aims to showcase Bangladesh’s progress and potential in semiconductors, biotechnology, artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics, while highlighting opportunities for human resource development, foreign and domestic investment, and international collaboration.
The event brought together government policymakers, global semiconductor industry leaders, researchers, entrepreneurs, university representatives, investors and Bangladeshi experts living abroad to help shape the country’s long-term semiconductor and deep-tech strategy.
Discussions focused on developing skilled human resources, building a robust semiconductor ecosystem, strengthening global partnerships, promoting research and innovation, advancing manufacturing capabilities, commercialisation and other deep-tech technologies.
Representatives from GlobalFoundries, NXP, Applied Materials, SanDisk, Credo and the Vietnam Semiconductor Alliance and Partnership also participated in the summit.
Later, the PM went around to different booths set up on the exhibition premises featuring innovations in semiconductors, artificial intelligence, robotics, healthcare technology, intelligent systems and other deep-tech sectors developed by students and start-up entrepreneurs.
Minister for Posts and Telecommunications, ICT Division and Science and Technology Fakir Mahbub Anam and Prime Minister’s Adviser on Science and Technology Rehan Asif Asad addressed the inaugural session.
President of the Bangladesh Semiconductor Industry Association MA Jabbar, Science and Technology Secretary Md Anwar Hossain, and Chief Architect of the Silicon River Initiative and Professor of Purdue University Muhammad Mustafa Hussain also addressed the occasion.
The concluding day of the summit on Sunday will feature the Christie Fellowship Research Symposium, where emerging Bangladeshi researchers will present their latest semiconductor research.
Eight strategic national documents are also scheduled to be unveiled, including recommendations for the semiconductor sector, the Talent Roadmap 2030, the Ecosystem Roadmap, the International Partnership Framework, the Deep-Tech Priority Sectors and the Commercialisation Framework.
According to the organisers, these documents will provide a long-term implementation framework to guide the development of Bangladesh’s semiconductor and deep-tech industries
