Posts and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar said, “Our biggest challenge was to bring the distraught postal service to a better position as the era of letters is over.” I have already done that a lot. Digitization of the entire postal system is underway to make the post office suitable for the smart Bangladesh era. By developing the mailing system, the post office has already started the difficult task of delivering from frozen food to cooked food. Post office has become a trusted institution for digital commerce. The government is determined to make the post office a reliable service institution.
The minister said this while addressing as the chief guest at the discussion meeting and letter writing competition organized by the Directorate of Posts on the occasion of World Postal Day 2023 at the GPO Auditorium in Dhaka on Monday.
Postal and Telecommunication Secretary Abu Hena Morshed Zaman chaired the event, Director General of Postal Department Tarun Kanti Sikder and Additional Secretary of Postal and Telecommunication Department Zeenat Ara spoke.
The minister highlighted various groundbreaking initiatives taken by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for the development of the postal system and said, ‘Short term, medium term and long term plans based on the final report of the survey conducted to establish a smart post office in the light of the proposal of Digital Service Design Lab (DSDL) to make the post office suitable for the smart Bangladesh era. If implemented, it will be difficult to find any institution equal to the post office in postal service.
In addition, under the direction of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Mustafa Jabbar pointed out the contribution of the postal service to deliver medical equipment to the farmers’ fruits and vegetables during the Covid 19 pandemic.
Post and Telecommunication Secretary said on the occasion that the era of the runner is over but people still remember the tradition of letters. Referring to the post office as an institution rich in history and tradition, he said, there is no alternative to adopt and implement action plans to survive in the competition.
The Secretary emphasized on the need to work tirelessly to gain the trust of customers along with 24 hours seven days a week service in improving the quality of postal services.
He said, if the postal system of Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Australia is at a very good level, why can’t we? He assured all possible cooperation for the development of postal services. The Director General of the Department of Posts highlighted the history of postal service journey. With the evolution of time, the need for letters has ended, but there is still a need for postal services. Zeenat Ara said postal services should be modernized to keep up with the times.
Later, the minister distributed prizes among the winners of the letter writing competition organized on the occasion of World Postal Day.
This year’s theme for World Postal Day is ‘Unity for Trust: Cooperation for a Secure and Connected Future’. On October 9, 1874, the ‘Universal Postal Union’ was formed at an international conference held in Bern, Switzerland, with the participation of representatives of 22 countries. Later, by passing a resolution raised by this organization in the United Nations, October 9, 1969 was declared as the World Postal Day.