Prime Minister Tarique Rahman officially opened the two-day National Semiconductor Symposium and the Biotechnology, Electronics, Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (BEAR) Conference 2026 on Saturday.

The event underscores the administration's resolve to establish a robust high-technology infrastructure across Bangladesh.

Jointly organized by the Bangladesh Semiconductor Industry Association, the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the Silicon River Bangladesh initiative, the opening ceremony commenced at 10 am at the Novo Theatre in Tejgaon.

Centered on the theme "Building Bangladesh's Semiconductor Future through Global Partnership," the gathering convened government officials, global tech executives, academic scholars, business founders, investors, and members of the non-resident Bangladeshi community to deliberate on a comprehensive, long-term roadmap for advancing the national semiconductor field.

Event organizers noted that the main objective of the conference is to elevate Bangladesh's domestic semiconductor sector while strengthening its footprint in emerging high-tech disciplines.

The program includes 11 technical tracks alongside seven strategic panel discussions focusing on semiconductor growth, global technological leadership, cross-sector technology convergence, future industry trends, deep-tech entrepreneurship, advanced manufacturing, and the active involvement of Bangladeshi expatriates working in global technology sectors.

International organizations and academic institutions participating in the sessions include Texas Instruments, Purdue University, GlobalFoundries, NXP, Applied Materials, SanDisk, CREDO, and the Vietnam Semiconductor Alliance and Partnership.

Deliberations will center on nurturing a skilled workforce, building a reliable industry ecosystem, fostering international alliances, promoting scientific research, scaling manufacturing capabilities, commercializing innovations, and supporting deep-tech start-ups.

On the second day, the event will feature the Christie Fellowship Research Symposium, offering emerging Bangladeshi researchers a platform to showcase their latest findings in the semiconductor field.

Key dignitaries addressing the inaugural session included Science and Technology Minister Faqir Mahbub Anam, Prime Minister's ICT Adviser Rehan Asif Asad, Science and Technology Secretary Md Anwar Hossain, and Bangladesh Semiconductor Industry Association President M A Jabbar.

Professor Mohammad Mustafa Hossain of Purdue University, serving as the chief architect of BEAR and Silicon River Bangladesh, delivered the keynote vision address.

Running concurrently with the main conference, the BEAR Innovation Expo 2026 is displaying dynamic projects created by students, researchers, and emerging startups across artificial intelligence, robotics, healthcare technologies, semiconductors and other deep-tech industries.