Pak China Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCJCCI) wishes to invigorate a revolutionary phase of information technology exchanges under China Pakistan Economic Corridor.
This was said by PCJCCI president, Wang Zihai, in a meeting with a three member Chinese delegation from BODA software solutions, Sichuan, China. The delegation was headed by Qiu Ziynn and included Dr. Ahasanullah Awan and Xinchao.
The purpose of the delegation was to enhance bilateral cooperation and trade between the IT sectors of the two countries. Their visit to Pakistan is in-line with the Chinese government’s push towards enhancing trade ties with neighbouring countries, particularly Pakistan.
The IT delegation aimed to inform Chinese stakeholders about the opportunities available in Pakistan’s IT industry, to solicit Chinese interest in outsourcing IT work to Pakistani companies, and to partner with Pakistani companies for extending Chinese IT companies’ footprints.
Wang Zihai briefed the delegation and provided information regarding Pakistan’s IT and software industry.
He said the Chinese were intrigued by the fact that there are over 2000 Pakistani companies developing high end enterprise-grade software solutions for some of the world’s largest companies, adding that Pakistani IT companies regularly won awards at international IT events. To enhance the importance of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, the two countries have to step forward in tandem to develop an e-corridor for greater connectivity, stressed Mr. Wang.
Ziynn mentioned that CPEC was currently focusing on infrastructure development and energy generation but that the scope of CPEC would expand to contain other mainstream fields like science and information technology as well.
He said expanding the cooperation to science and information technology would boost bilateral trade and economic ties in a more modern and digital way.
Secretary General PCJCCI, M Salahuddin Hanif informed the delegates about concerted efforts of the Pakistani government for the development of IT industry. He told that the IT & Telecom ministry was already collaborating for the development of an ‘e-commerce gateway framework’. This gateway would open up opportunities for online commercial ventures. He said this would mean a flourishing of business, and extension of market shares to a broader customer base, foreign consumers and online businesses. He also informed that Pakistan’s mobile app, gaming, and animation development industries are rapidly progressing. Export of mobile phone apps is fetching US $ 10 million to the country every month while yearly exports have now exceeded US $ 2 billion, said Salahuddin.
The attending delegates appreciated this vision of the government and hailed initiatives being taken by the Ministry of IT for uplifting the sector and also expressed their interest in mutual collaboration with Pakistan in this potent sector. It was jointly agreed to revolutionize this important sector with joint efforts and operative planning. It was notable that software and IT industry works as an underline support for this colossal business infrastructure. It is the need of the time to facilitate business ventures in this key area.