Federal Minister for Commerce Syed Naveed Qamar has said that the IT sector holds the key to enhancing exports of the country.
“Our future is IT. If we don’t facilitate the IT industry, the goal of enhancing Pakistan’s exports would remain elusive,” he said.
Talking to Pak American IT entrepreneurs and professionals, via Zoom meeting at the Embassy of Pakistan in Washington DC, the minister said that the IT sector was the one major area where facilitation and the right set of policies could witness exponential growth in the near future.
The meeting was attended by renowned IT entrepreneurs and professionals including Naveed Sherwani, Mohammad Anwar Khan, Naeem Raza, Junaid Qureshi, Aly Fahd, Moazzam Chaudhry, and others.
Ambassador of Pakistan to the United States Masood Khan, Secretary Board of Investment Asad Gillani, Deputy Chief of Mission Syed Naveed Bokhari, Minister (Trade) Azmat Mahmood, and senior officers were also present during the meeting.
The participants presented various suggestions aimed at ensuring a conducive environment for the growth of the IT sector in the country and also for strengthening Pak-US trade ties, especially in the IT and tech sectors.
Issues discussed included the simplification of the tax regime for IT businesses, training and capacity building of the IT professionals, simplification of processes of receiving funds, the introduction of IT subjects in schools and colleges, better inter-ministerial coordination, digitalization and adoption of policies that could meet present-day requirements of IT professionals and tech-entrepreneurs.
The participants also suggested establishing a Consulate in San Francisco to serve as an IT hub for Pakistani professionals and area experts.
The minister welcomed the suggestions and reiterated that facilitating IT professionals and the tech sector was the foremost priority of the government. He said that efforts were afoot to remove all impediments in way of the growth of the IT and tech sector in the country.
The minister further said that strengthening Pak-US cooperation in the IT sector was one of the major agenda items during ongoing Pak-US Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) talks.
He expressed the hope that the momentum generated by high-level talks to enhance trade and investment between the two countries would result in significant progress in all relevant areas including the IT sector.
