There is a need to give priority to education and investing in this sector in order to help build a knowledge-based economy, former federal minister Prof Dr Attaur Rehman said on Saturday. “This would also enable the country to make a rapid headway in the comity of nations,” he added. Prof Rehman was speaking as chief guest at a marketing and branding conference at a local hotel. The day-long gathering was held under the auspices of the Memon Professional Forum in collaboration with the Marketing Association of Pakistan and Pakistan Software Houses Association. Prof Rehman pointed out that Pakistan is blessed with immense human resource potential as the country’s 85 million people are below the age of 19 years.
He called for investing in education, imparting knowledge in order to pave the way for a knowledge based economy with highly-trained manpower in different fields. Prof Rehman said that science and technology would also help facilitate the achievement of Millennium Development Goals through sustained and enhanced economic growth, provide employment opportunities and enhance market efficiency. Earlier, M Zubair, the chairman of the conference committee presented the welcome keynote followed by a speech by Asif Ismail, the president of the Memon Professional Forum. Taher A Khan, Chairman, Interflow Group presented his views on ‘Driving growth in the digital age – challenges and opportunities’ and Veqar-ul-Islam, head of Nokia Siemens Sub-Region-Middle East Africa East shared his thoughts on the ‘Emerging opportunities in the era of social media and global competition’.
