Revolutionary advances in information technology are reinforcing economic and social changes therefore the days are not very far when Pakistan will be among the digitised nations of the world.
This was the upshot of the speeches delivered at a Digital Punjab Conference organised by the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry in connection with Lahore Shopping Festival in active collaboration with Government of Punjab, Telenor Pakistan and Pharma Health (Pvt) Limited at Expo Centre on Saturday.
Provincial Minister for Agriculture Dr Furrakh Javaid, LCCI President Farooq Iftikhar, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Telenor Muhammad Aslam Hayat Khan, Chief Marketing Officer Irfan Wahab Khan, LCCI President Farooq Iftikhar, Senior Vice President Irfan Iqbal Sheikh, Vice President Mian Abuzar Shad, former presidents Iftikhar Ali Malik, Shahid Hassan Sheikh and CEO Google Pakistan Badr Khushnood also spoke at the function which was part of LCCI Job Fair 2013, a combo of three events including Digital Punjab Conference, Career Counseling Conference and a Job Fair by more than 35 companies representing diverse sectors.
A large number of LCCI executive committee members including Khawaja Shahzeb Akram, Mian zahid Javed Ahmad, Chaudhry Iftikhar Bashir and Nasir Hameed were also present on the occasion.
Speaking on the occasion, Provincial Minister Dr Furrakh Javaid said that all citizens should have access to and be able to reap the benefits of mobile technology and the internet. This will not only boost socio-economic development, but will also transform the quality of lives and the Punjab government was making all out efforts to promote the information technology.
He lauded some of Telenor Pakistan’s pioneering initiatives for establishing an eco-system for mobile financial services in Pakistan aimed at providing financial inclusion to unbanked population, ‘Agriculture Commodity Trade’ enabling farmers to use the platform.
LCCI President Farooq Iftikhar thanked the government, Telenor Pakistan and PharmaHealth Pakistan for extending unmatched support for the success of the Lahore Shopping Festival 2013.
He said the conference was orgainsed for creating awareness and helping the youth in better planning for their future needs and responsibilities.
He said the LCCI had been playing its due role in organising various activities to facilitate the youth and the business community.
The LCCI president said the goal of national development and prosperity could not be achieved without information technology and better services could be ensured through the use of information technology. He said that economy, health and education sectors could be further improved with the help of information technology.
Speaking on the occasion, Muhammad Aslam Hayat Khan, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer and Chief Marketing Officer Telenor Pakistan Irfan Wahab Khan, congratulated LCCI for organising the conference and lauded the various initiatives of the Punjab government to further strengthen the information and communication technology (ICT) framework in the province.
They said that Telenor Pakistan aimed to play a pivotal role in government’s efforts to promote e-inclusivity for all to foster socio-economic transformation of Pakistan. It has always been at the forefront for bringing people into the communication loop and boosting the social economy with accessible and much needed services. The next spurt of telecom growth worldwide was expected from data rather than voice and in this regard they had been actively promoting safe and responsible use of mobile internet. More than 50 percent of all internet usage in Pakistan was on mobile therefore they felt it could be a useful catalyst for sustainably changing lives and supporting socioeconomic development.
They further said that improved accessibility, effective content and appropriate devices could help deliver full benefits of internet to the entire Pakistani nation including government sector, business community and general public especially youth – which could only be achieved through mutual cooperation of the government and telecom companies.
LCCI Senior Vice President Irfan Iqbal Sheikh said that participation of thousands of students in the job fair proved that the LCCI Shopping Festival had rightly attracted the attention of the masses. He said that the Job Fair was designed in a way so that the employers could be able to get potential and right employees. He also thanked all the sponsors for extending cooperation to the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
