Envoy says govt committed to ensure ‘Digital Pakistan’ vision

ISLAMABAD   -   Pakistan Ambas­sador to China, Moin-ul-Haque, has said that China has become a glob­al leader in science and technology and IT fields through strategic invest­ments in AI, 5G, EVs, biotechnology, renewal energy, robotics, big data and e-commerce, and China and Pakistan have identified IT and science and technology cooperation blueprint un­der the CPEC framework.

“Pakistan itself is committed to its “Digital Pakistan” vision, tapping into its young and enterprising population. We are fostering startup culture and have established the Special Technolo­gy Zone Authority to attract tech com­panies to set up R&D centres and man­ufacturing units in Pakistan,” said the ambassador while addressing a side­line forum titled “China-Pakistan Sci­ence, Technology and Innovation Co­operation - Shared Journey to a Digital Era” at the China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS), on Tuesday in Beijing.

Purpose of the event was to develop science & technology bilateral cooper­ation between China and Pakistan and was held in Beijing on Tuesday, China Economic Net (CEN) reported.

The ambassador said that by offering lucrative tax incentives, we have seen a surge in our IT sector in recent years.

It was a conscious choice to organ­ize this event on the sidelines of CIFT­IS which has now become a world-re­nowned forum for services trade. As part of our broader economic part­nership, we are focusing on fintech, IT, ecommerce and logistics. Pakistan’s largest logistics company NLC is par­ticipating in this conference today.

“We have also launched China-Pa­kistan Digital, Green, and Health Cor­ridors to harness the potential of our two countries in these fields,” he said.

He added that they are establishing linkages between our academic insti­tutions, research organisations and IT companies for practical implemen­tation of our vision and for going for­ward on a shared journey of digital era. In major milestone, we have recently set up China-Pakistan Joint Research Centre on Earth Sciences.

Ghulam Qadir, Commercial Council­lor of Pakistan embassy Beijing briefed audience about current business op­portunities between two countries.

“I invited all Chinese businessmen in IT sector to join us and enhance bilat­eral cooperation, and facilitate technol­ogy transfer to enable the development of Special Technology Zones across Pa­kistan,” he added.

Xiaodong Zhang, President, ZBRA China said we should jointly Write a New Chapter in China-Pakistan Science and Technology Cooperation.

He further said that Pakistan and Chi­na are committed to developing a com­munity with shared knowledge and Chinese expertises would enhance co­operation in future.

Khan Muhammad, Science Counsel­lor at Pakistan Embassy in Beijing said that today event we signed different MOUs to support science and technol­ogy development.

“Signing of Strategic Cooperation Agreement on establishing China Paki­stan STI Centre in China between ZBRA and China Construction Huaxia (Bei­jing) Industrial Operation Company and Strategic Cooperation Agreement between ZBRA Beijing Time-Honoured Brands Association are signed to pro­mote cooperation between China and Pakistan,” he added.

It is to be noted that the top Paki­stani firms participating in CIFTIS, Special Technology Zone Authority (STZA), Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), NETSOL, ISBEI, National Bank of Pakistan, National Logistic Corpo­ration (NLC), Fb Enterprises and other opened their booths to attract Chinese investors at CIFTIS, takes place in Bei­jing from September 2 to 6.

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