Facilitation a must for IT sector’s growth: Qamar

Federal Commerce Minister Syed Naveed Qamar has emphasised that information technology (IT) is the key to enhancing exports of the country.

“Our future is IT. If we don’t facilitate the IT industry, the goal of enhancing exports will remain elusive,” he said.

Virtually addressing via Zoom a meeting of Pakistani-American IT entrepreneurs and professionals at the Embassy of Pakistan in Washington DC, the minister said that IT was a major area where facilitation and the right set of policies could result in an exponential growth in the near future.

Participants of the meeting presented various suggestions aimed at creating a conducive environment for growth of the IT sector and for strengthening trade ties between Pakistan and the US, especially in the IT and tech arena. Discussing measures for giving a boost to the IT industry, they stressed the need for simplifying the tax regime, training and capacity building of IT professionals, streamlining processes for receiving funds, introducing IT subject in schools and colleges, better inter-ministerial coordination, digitalisation and adoption of policies that could meet present-day requirements of IT professionals and tech entrepreneurs.

Meeting participants also called for establishing a consulate in San Francisco that could serve as a IT hub for Pakistani professionals and experts. The minister reiterated that facilitating the IT professionals and tech sector was the foremost priority of the government. “Efforts are afoot to remove all impediments in the way of IT and tech sector’s growth,” he said.

The minister added that strengthening Pakistan-US cooperation in the IT sector was one of the major agenda items during the ongoing Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) talks.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 24^th, 2023.

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