ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday said that a complete digital ecosystem, along with the necessary supporting infrastructure, is being introduced to boost Pakistan’s IT exports to an ambitious target of $30 billion.
While chairing a meeting in Islamabad to review the progress of reforms in the IT sector and the restructuring of the National Information Technology Board (NITB), the Prime Minister directed the Ministry of Information Technology to present a comprehensive roadmap aimed at achieving and surpassing the annual export targets, Radio Pakistan reported.
He noted that this comes following the successful attainment of last year’s IT export milestone of $3.8 billion.
The Prime Minister reaffirmed the government’s commitment to digitising Pakistan, strengthening the economy, and aligning the country with modern global standards. He further instructed the restructuring of the NITB and emphasised the need to recruit top talent from the market to lead this transformation.
Commending efforts to empower the youth, especially women, in the IT sector, he highlighted the government’s initiatives to ensure their self-reliance and greater inclusion in the digital economy.
Shehbaz Sharif said that the implementation of the e-office system has resulted in paperless governance across government departments, saving both time and public resources. He also noted that thousands of young people are securing respectable employment opportunities through the Digital Youth Hub, as the government continues to equip the next generation with quality education and market-relevant IT skills.
The meeting was informed that under the National Incubation Centre, a total of 386 startups have been supported, with 14 of them reaching the international level. Additionally, 40 e-employment centres have been established across 26 cities, while investment agreements and memorandums of understanding worth $700 million have been signed to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in the tech sector.
It was further shared that around 315,000 students have received professional IT training over the past year, including approximately 115,000 women, in a bid to ensure equal opportunities and gender inclusion in the field of information technology.
The meeting also revealed significant growth in the telecom and internet sectors during the last fiscal year. Telecom connections surpassed the 200 million mark, an additional one million internet users were recorded, and overall internet usage rose by 24 percent.
The Prime Minister concluded by reiterating the government’s vision to create a tech-driven, knowledge-based economy and make Pakistan a competitive force in the global digital landscape.
