Pakistan's Government to Develop Plan to Improve IT Exports

In order to reach the goal of $5 billion in exports, the government will provide the IT and telecom sector with full support, according to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday.

The prime minister stated that the industry has enormous potential that has to be unlocked while presiding over a meeting of the IT task force to design a plan for the development of the sector.

According to him, the government will offer all necessary assistance and policy support to turn this area of the economy into a strong one. On his return from Washington, he requested Finance Minister Ishaq Dar to call a meeting of the task team to finalize the policy proposals.

The prime minister declared that initiatives are being taken to improve the efficiency of call centers, telcos, sovereign technology parks (STP), software companies, and freelancers in order to support the expansion of this attractive service industry.

The prime minister was informed that Pakistan's IT and telecom industries are growing and employ close to 40,000 people. It is the third-largest reseller on Amazon globally and the fourth-largest market for freelancers, with annual IT exports of $2.6 billion.

A detailed plan is also required to make it easier for the IT and telecom sector to comply with State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), and Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) rules.

The prime minister gave the go-ahead for all actions to be taken by the government to advance and expand the IT and telecom industry in the nation.

Ishaq Dar, the finance minister, Syed Amin ul Haque, the minister of information technology, and Dr. Aisha Ghous Pasha, the minister of state for finance, were among those present at the meeting.