BSS, Dhaka :
The government has proposed to the visiting SAARC delegation to launch a project on language conversion aimed at enabling people of eight SAARC countries to get various information including knowledge, tradition and culture in their national languages.
Information and Communication Technology Secretary N I Khan gave this proposal to the SAARC delegation headed by Director of Department of ICT of Bhutan Phuntosho Tobgay during a meeting at the former’s office on Thursday.
Now the SAARC web portal is providing information about the member countries in English language, but if a language converter is introduced the information in English will automatically be converted into national languages of respective member countries, he told the delegation.
He said this will actually enhance the communication skills, cooperation and help people of SAARC countries to know about knowledge, development, and culture of each other’s country. Officials present at the meeting said the SAARC delegation responded positively to it and asked the ICT secretary to submit a proposal immediately to SAARC Development FUND (SDF) so that they could raise the issue for taking a decision at the meeting of SDF to be held in Bhutan on March 10 next. “We are already working to make a proposal involving various components including development of a software about language converter and hopefully we will submit it to the SDF this month as the SAARC delegation requested me to do the same,” N I Khan said.
Officials of the Department of MoICT of Bhutan including Lachman Acharya, Kezang and Sangay Tenzim and Additional Secretary of ICT Ministry Kamal Uddin Ahmed and Joint Secretary (Admin) Sushanta Kumar Saha were present at the meeting. In the meeting, the SAARC delegation was also appraised of the progress by the Bangladesh side about the implementation of the SDF funded ‘Empowering Rural Communities: Reaching the Unreached Project’.
The delegation expressed satisfaction over rapid implementation of the project which is expected completed by March next, said Susanta Saha.
