Islamabad: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif says the commitments of worth seven hundred million dollars made at Digital Foreign Direct Investment Forum will help exploit the true potential of Pakistani youth.
Addressing the two-day Digital Foreign Direct Investment Forum in Islamabad today (Tuesday), he expressed the confidence that Pakistan will emerge as a leading force in the field of Information Technology.
The Prime Minister invited the foreign investors to invest in Pakistan, assuring that they will be fully facilitated in order to achieve our position in the comity of nations in the field of IT and Artificial Intelligence.
Alluding to the potential and talent of the youth of Pakistan, the Prime Minister said Pakistan offers wonderful opportunities in the field of Information Technology. He said the energetic youth are doing a great job in Pakistan and abroad.
Shehbaz Sharif said our total remittances have touched 4.1 billion dollars in the month of March, which is a record in Pakistan’s history.
The Prime Minister said the government has also planned a massive program for the promotion of IT and Artificial Intelligence.
He said IT Parks and incubation centers are being established in addition to providing training to the youth. He said the government is entering into a program with Huawei to offer skills training to two hundred thousand youth in Pakistan annually.
Shehbaz Sharif urged the investors to also come forward to uplift Pakistan’s agriculture, industries and to generate employment opportunities in the country.
In her remarks, Secretary General Digital Cooperation Organization, Deemah AlYahya, said this forum is a declaration that Pakistan is ready to lead in the global digital economy.
She said the presence of one thousand investors, innovators and policy makers at the forum is a powerful testament of Pakistan’s rising digital leadership.
Addressing the event, Minister for Information Technology Shaza Fatima Khawaja highlighted in details the steps being taken for promotion of IT and digital transformation.
She said Pakistan is framing a national AI policy and our IT exports in the first nine months of current fiscal year have grown by twenty-five percent.
The IT Minister said the Prime Minister’s progressive policies are enabling us to move towards cashless economy which will make transactions easier, transparent and expeditious as well as pave the way for an inclusive economy.
Shaza Fatima said we are focusing on building the best digital public infrastructure which will bring digital payment revolution in the country.
She mentioned that Pakistan’s mobile manufacturing production has surged by forty-eight percent in the last one year. She said Pakistan is also producing over thirty one million devices per annum. She said the government also digitized many departments in a very short span of time.
Shaza Fatima Khawaja said the government is committed to build digital economy, digital governance and digital society.
