Lauren Dreyer, Vice President for Global Engagement at SpaceX, met with Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus on the sidelines of the Earthna Summit in Doha on Wednesday to discuss the final stages of a landmark collaboration aimed at bringing SpaceX satellite services the Starlink to Bangladesh.
Dreyer, a longtime associate of Elon Musk with nearly two decades at SpaceX, expressed optimism about the initiative’s progress. “We’re very close to the finish line. I’ve asked my team to be fully ready for a technical launch by May,” she said.
Chief Adviser Yunus welcomed the development, noting the anticipation back home. “It’s big news in Bangladesh. People are counting down the days,” he said. “And when the time comes, it has to be a big celebration.”
The partnership is expected to begin with a technical rollout, followed by full-scale deployment once remaining logistical and regulatory issues are resolved.
Discussions also touched on the potential involvement of PayPal—also co-founded by Elon Musk—to support digital transactions related to SpaceX’s operations in Bangladesh.
“From the outset, this has been one of the most streamlined and well-organized initiatives we’ve been part of,” Dreyer told the Chief Adviser.
Senior Bangladeshi officials present at the meeting included Foreign Adviser Md Touhid Hossain, National Security Adviser Khalilur Rahman, and SDG Affairs Secretary Lamiya Morshed.