Microsoft founder Bill Gates arrived in Bangladesh on Monday for a brief visit during which he aims to commit assistance to expanding the impoverished country's information technology industry. Accompanied by his wife Melinda, the Microsoft chief was received at Dhaka airport by Science and Technology Minister Dr. Abdul Moyeen Khan. Gates is expected to sign an agreement for Microsoft to train hundreds of Bangladeshi teachers in information technology, education ministry officials said. He is also expected to announce a $15 million donation for a private Asian University for Women, they said. Gates also met Microsoft business officials in Dhaka and was due to hold a meeting with Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia before leaving for India later in the day. "His visit is very important for the national interests of Bangladesh as it will give a new impetus to Bangladesh's nascent IT industry," Reuters quoted Akhtar Hussain, an information technology expert as saying.
