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Starlink, Elon Musk’s satellite internet service, was scheduled to conduct a demonstration of its internet services on April 9 at the upcoming Bangladesh Investment Summit, as announced by Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) Executive Chairman Ashik Chowdhury during a press briefing on March 23 at the Foreign Service Academy. However, Chowdhury clarified that this demonstration would not signify the official launch of Starlink in Bangladesh, as the commercial rollout would require more time. The Bangladesh Investment Summit was set to take place from April 7 to April 10 at Hotel InterContinental Dhaka, having already garnered significant interest. According to BIDA, over 550 foreign investors from 50 countries had registered to attend, alongside more than 2,300 Bangladeshi investors. “We are very optimistic about the upcoming investment summit. Although investments will not surge tenfold overnight, we anticipate at least a 2 or 3 percent growth in investments,” Chowdhury stated. The summit aimed to prioritize networking and relationship-building over traditional seminars. Government organizations, including the National Board of Revenue (NBR) and the Ministry of Commerce, were expected to host dedicated sessions with potential investors to foster connections. Top executives from global companies such as Meta, Uber, Telenor, and Samsung were slated to participate in the summit, along with representatives from political parties, who would also have the opportunity to engage with investors. BIDA reported that several prominent business leaders were scheduled to attend, including Óscar García Maceiras, CEO of Zara Group; Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Chairman of DP World; Rosy Winterton, Baroness and UK trade representative; Kyeongsu Lee, Vice President of Samsung C&T; JunSeok Han, CEO of Giordano; Steven Kobos, CEO of Excelerate Energy; Mike Orgill, Head of Public Policy for Uber Asia Pacific; and Sarim Aziz, Director of Public Policy at Meta. Leading venture capital firms like B Capital, Gobi, Conjunction, Marubeni, and GFR were also expected to participate, focusing on startup investments and expanding the digital economy. Chowdhury emphasized the importance of both local and foreign investments in creating more jobs, stating, “We want to present investors with an accurate picture of Bangladesh. We do not want to give them false hopes.” He also noted that the leading participating countries in the summit included the US, China, the UK, India, Singapore, and Japan. As part of the summit’s agenda, major foreign investors, along with a 26-member delegation from South Korea, were to visit key industrial sites, including Chattogram, Mirsarai, and the Korean EPZ, on April 7, BIDA reported. A startup showcase program was also scheduled for the same day at Hotel Intercontinental Dhaka. On April 8, leading foreign investors were expected to visit the Japanese Economic Zone in Narayanganj to explore investment opportunities, followed by a parallel evening program at Hotel InterContinental Dhaka. On April 9, the Chief Advisor to the Government of Bangladesh was scheduled to officially inaugurate the main event, joined by ambassadors, policymakers, and business leaders. The day’s program was to include the Youth Entrepreneurship Expo, focusing on
