Time ripe to boost Pak-US tech bond
Now the time is ripe for strengthening tech bonds between Pakistan and the United States, said Pakistan Ambassador to the United States Masood Khan.
Addressing Pakistan Tech Summit 2022 in Silicon Valley on Wednesday, he said that the Pakistani government is taking steps to create a hospitable environment for the tech industry, said Khan.
“The US is ready to help and we are ready to join the IT revolution by integrating and absorbing innovations in US technologies,” he said.
The Pakistani envoy highlighted that the Summit provides business leaders, tech entrepreneurs and technology experts from Pakistan a platform to come together and form synergies, build bridges between Silicon Valley and the Pakistani startup ecosystem and join hands for a bright future for Pakistan.
“You are already on a roll,” he said.
The envoy marked that more than 64% population of Pakistan is below the age of 30 years and a growing middle class was expected to cross the 100 million mark soon. This youth bulge combined with the growing middle class promised bright prospects for the growth of the IT sector in the country.
“In the past 18 months, tech startups in Pakistan have earned half a billion dollars mainly supported by the United States,” he said. “The sector was poised to generate tens of billions of dollars within the current decade”. He assured that the Government of Pakistan will continue to take steps to create a hospitable environment for the tech industry.
The regulations are being made business-friendly, ease of doing business is a priority, and incentives are being given to venture capitalists, he added.
While recounting various incentives being offered to promote the tech sector, the Ambassador said that investors were being facilitated to repatriate their funds. The legislation was proceeding on data protection and issues related to intellectual property are also being addressed, said Khan. “We are planning to open a consulate general in the Bay Area to link Silicon Valley with Pakistan to spur and support the growth of startups in Pakistan”, he said. He encouraged participants to share the outcome of their deliberations during the summit and to identify the areas where the government and embassy’s intercession could help.
Ambassador Khan congratulated Arzish Azam, Founder and CEO of Ejad Labs for organising the fourth Pakistan Tech Summit 2022. The summit was hosted in collaboration with private and public sector partners.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 28th, 2022.
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