IT sector a priority: Dar

Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar apprised Pakistani-American IT/Tech entrepreneurs that the government was according priority attention to the IT/ Tech sector to tap into its true potential.

In a virtual meeting with the entrepreneurs, along with the Minister for Economic Affairs Ayaz Sadiq, Dar said, “The country’s tech-savvy youth are an immense resource and need to be optimally tapped for the growth of the IT sector”.

According to a press statement issued by the finance ministry, on Monday, State Minister for Finance and Revenue Aisha Ghaus Pasha, the Governor State Bank of Pakistan Jameel Ahmed and Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States Masood Khan, along with other members of Pakistan delegation, also participated in the meeting.

The minister appreciated the interest shown by Pakistani-American tech entrepreneurs in strengthening Pakistan’s IT sector.

He emphasised that this sector had immense potential for growth and could play a significant role in strengthening the country’s economy.

Dar also assured the participants of the government’s complete support in their efforts to enable Pakistan to achieve exponential growth in its IT exports in the coming years.

“The economy is the government’s top priority and for this purpose, it has taken tough but essential decisions in the past few months to put it on the recovery path,” assured the finance minister.

The catastrophic floods, he said, had compounded the difficulty but the government was confident that through prudent policies they would overcome the challenges being faced by the economy.

In their interventions, the Pakistani-American IT/Tech entrepreneurs appreciated the government’s focus on the IT/Tech sector and reaffirmed their interest in investing in Pakistan.

They also made a number of suggestions, and proposals, to further promote the sector’s growth, especially with regards to exports.

At this, the minister assured them that their suggestions would be carefully examined for proper follow up. He also urged the attendees to remain engaged with the government to ensure robust growth of the sector that is commensurate with its potential.

Separately, the finance minister met with the Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) CEO Engineer Hani Salem Sonbol and appreciated ITFC’s support towards Pakistan. Ways to further strengthen cooperation were also discussed, tweeted the finance ministry on Monday.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 18^th, 2022.

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