They made the call at the inauguration of computer fair styled Computer Fair CityIT 2004 yesterday in Dhaka.

Pointing out the necessity of development of IT technologies, Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry President Abdul Awal Mintoo said with the development of science and technology the factors of production have changed to core competency, technology and knowledge.

For creating awareness among people of the use of technology he said the more the people make practical use of science and technology, the more the country gets developed.

He also urged the government to make English a compulsory subject from kindergarten level to increase the language proficiency of local people as saying, English is not only a subject, but also a factor of production now.

Speaking at the inaugural function, President of American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh Aftab-Ul-Islam called for an IT enabling environment and emphasised building of infrastructure and improvement of knowledge in technology.

Aftab also echoed the importance of the international language 'English' for better understanding of technology.

Although the country is stepping in a quota-free era, the IT sector of Bangladesh will be able to heighten its position at the $233 billion world market for enabling IT services, he hoped.

Inaugurating the fair Science and Information and Communication Technology Minister Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan highlighted the importance of science and technology as a major factor of development and called for more investment in this sector and asked the participants of the fair to increase the turnover in businesses rather than rising profit margin.

Encouraging activities of the young generation engaged in IT sector he said these young Bangladeshis are getting contracts of good amounts from different countries.

Citing some examples of such contracts he said these types of work orders prove that local people engaged in IT could achieve the confidence of the foreigners. Presently Bangladesh exports ICT products to 23 developed countries, the minister added.

Among others, Bangladesh Association of Software Information Services President Sarwar Alam, Bangladesh Computer Samity President SM Iqbal and Convenor of the fair Akhter Hussain Khan spoke on the occasion.

A total of 165 companies are taking part in the nine-day computer fair arranged in four floors of BCS Computer City at Agargaon in Dhaka.

Exhibitors are offering discounts and gift offers on their products displayed in the exhibition sponsored by Asus, Daffodil International University and Gigabyte.

The organisers are also arranging competitions on different subjects including graphics design and gaming. Art competition for children and talk shows will also be held during the fair, the organisers said.

The fair will remain open from 10:00am to 8:00pm everyday until January 7 and entry fee for the visitors is Tk 10 each but school-students and physically challenged people will get waiver from the entry fee.