Country aims to bridge digital divide

Minister outlines govt vision to build knowledge-based economy

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan is committed to bridging the digital divide between urban and rural areas and providing an environment where everyone can reap the rewards of a thriving digital economy, said Federal Minister for Information Technology (IT) and Telecommunication Syed Aminul Haque.

While meeting a delegation of the Digital Cooperation Organisation (DCO) on Thursday, the minister underlined the government’s vision of building a knowledge-based economy.

“Our membership of the DCO will continue to provide opportunities of collaboration among countries to develop an inclusive global digital economy,” he said.

DCO consists of seven founding member countries which include Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman and Nigeria.

The minister was of the view that the DCO member countries could take advantage of Pakistan’s IT professionals, as they possessed world-class talent.

“The creativity of (local) freelancers and startups awaits foreign investors,” he remarked.

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The Ministry of IT, through its initiatives and projects, was striving to provide internet and mobile services in remote areas of the country, he said, adding that the objective was to bridge the rural-urban divide.

He said that the participation of common man in the digital economy should be ensured, while special measures were being taken to bring women to the field.

Citing the Digital Pakistan Vision, the minister said that projects worth billions of rupees were underway in the IT and telecom sector, with the aim of providing uninterrupted internet and mobile services to the general public.

The projects would help increase IT exports, establish technology parks and facilitate IT companies and freelancers, Haque said, adding that the ultimate objective was to eliminate the urban and rural segregation and provide equal access to digital services.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 19^th, 2021.

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