Farkhund Yousafzai
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday directed the formation of a standing committee to promote harmony between the government and Information Technology (IT) industry, and resolve its problems. The committee would be composed of the representatives of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Ministry of Finance and Revenue, Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, and IT industry.
Presiding a review meeting for the promotion of the IT industry, the prime minister said that Pakistan had great potential in the IT sector which should be exploited. Pakistani entrepreneurs had played a very important role in the development of this sector.
He said that unfortunately, the IT exports of the country are far less than the talent and potential it has in the sector. He directed the concerned officials to take preferential measures to increase IT exports from $2.6 billion to $15 billion within three years.
Information Technology exporters to be hailed on governmental level
The PM said that exporters who played an important role in the Information Technology exports of Pakistan would be appreciated on the governmental level.
During the meeting, the representatives of the industry informed him about operational issues and they presented their suggestions in this regard. The prime minister assured them that their problems would be immediately addressed. He instructed the SBP and Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and other relevant officials to take effective measures in this regard.
He said that the Higher Education Commission (HEC), universities, and training institutions should work to increase the number of IT professionals from 600,000 to 1,500,000. He also instructed to make the IT curriculum more harmonious towards the industry.
