Due to the Corona pandemic, most of the programs are now going virtually. To serve this purpose, mostly the video conferencing app Zoom is being used. However, government organizations are coming out of this trend and are inclined towards their own platforms.
As a result, the use of ICT department’s ‘Boithok’ app is being used increasingly in inter-ministerial activities. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also is going to start using this video conferencing app at the outset of the newly declared seven-day long lockdown.
On the first working day of the week, Foreign Minister Abdul Momen, State Minister Shahriar Alam and senior officials of both the ministries had a virtual meeting with State Minister for ICT Junaid Ahmed Palak through the ‘Boithok’ app.
During the meeting, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed interest in using various solutions of the ICT department to digitize their activities.
For the sake of information security and national interest, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also given special importance to its own online video conferencing platform ‘Boithok’, information exchange app ‘Alapon’ and use of GRP system.
On September 5, 2016, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the ‘Alapon’, a domestic messaging application (app) for government officials and employees to communicate and exchange files among themselves.
Reve Systems, a Bangladeshi multinational technology company, has implemented the National ICT Infra-Network for Bangladesh Government Phase-II (Info-Gov) initiative of Bangladesh Computer Council under the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology.
The Minister of State for Information and Communication Technology informed that less bandwidth, less charge and less space would be required for communication through this app. It will also save the government money as there is no cost other than an internet connection to use the ‘Alapon’ app, he added.
