The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), Ministry of Information Technology and Telecom (MoIT) and International Telecommunication Union (ITU) jointly organised ‘Pakistan ICT Indicators Symposium’ with the theme of Multi-stakeholder Engagement to Highlight the need of ICT Data Reporting” at the PTA Headquarters on Monday.
On the occasion, Anusha Rehman Khan said that the ICTs indicators are related to the newly formulated Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“SDGs of the United Nations (UN) represent a renewed commitment of the 193 countries to end poverty, combat hunger and disease and promote social justice and human dignity,” she said and added, “ICT indicators are the key enablers to achieve multiple SDGs. ICT indicators can also help monitor achievements in other areas included in the SDGs, such as poverty reduction, education and economic growth. We all need to take a proactive approach to develop a comprehensive mechanism to collect all relevant ICT data.”
The minister said that Pakistan has shown tremendous growth in the telecom sector over the last few years and it has also achieved some exceptional milestones. Similarly, on the policy front, finalisation and approval of a comprehensive Telecommunication Policy is yet another milestone achieved, she further added.
Earlier, addressing the event, the MoIT secretary said that the government is committed to enhancing the quality of manpower in the ICT sector.
“We will continue to provide the necessary support to the industry,” he said and added that we need the effort and close cooperation of everyone including the operators, equipment manufacturers and content providers for the contribution of the ICT sector in GDP. He appreciated the efforts of the PTA towards improving the ICT sector of the country. He further said that local content and applications have generated new forms of consumption and attracted a large number of consumers.
The PTA chairman said in his welcome address that to take advantage of the rapidly changing society, governments need to monitor and benchmark progress in order to design and review national policies and strategies. In order to do so, reliable data and indicators on the access and use of ICTs and their impact on development have to be defined and collected. The chairman said that such data and indicators help governments design and evaluate ICT policies and strategies, compare their ICT developments with those in other countries and adopt solutions to reduce the digital divide. These rankings also show a snapshot of the country’s current ICT profile that is a key parameter for investors to analyse the market and to take an informed decision keeping in view the investment opportunities in the country, the chairman further added.
At the symposium, MoIT Member (HRD) Tahir Mushtaq highlighted the Ministry of IT’s role in the betterment of ICT Indicators. ITU Asia-Pacific Senior Advisor Sameer Sharma introduced the ITU’s work on the ICT indicators’ measurement.
PTA Member (Finance) Tariq Sultan briefed about the PTA efforts for improving the ICT profile of Pakistan. PTA DG Dr Muhammad Saleem shared his views on telecom data collection by the PTA. PBS Directors Rabia Awan and Attiqur Rehman gave presentations on the ICT household data collection by the PBS while Ministry of Planning Project Director Zafarul Hassan talked about improvement of ICT indicators and effective monitoring of SDGs.
PTA Member (Compliance & Enforcement)Abdul Samad moderated a session under the theme “removing impediments on ICT data collection and a way forward”. PTA Director (CA) Arif Sargana, PSEB Director Syed Ali Abbas Hasani and Sikander Naqi, representative from CMOs, also shared their views on removing impediments on ICT data collection and the way forward. The symposium also provided opportunities to the stakeholders such as ITU, PBS, MOIT&T to share their perspective and opinions on improving ICTs data collection and reflecting true picture of the progress in the telecom sector of the country. At the end of symposium the chief guest presented shields to the speakers.
It may be mentioned that State Minister for IT&T Anusha Rehman Khan has been appointed by the ITU secretary general as Broadband Commissioner for sustainable development of ITU. ITU and UNESCO set up the Broadband Commission for Digital Development in response to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon’s call to step-up UN efforts to meet the Millennium Development Goals.