Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar has given his approval to the Ministry of Information and Technology (IT) and Telecommunications’ ambitious plan to revamp Pakistan’s IT sector. The plan includes bringing global giants like PayPal and Starlink to the country.
During a meeting with Caretaker Minister for IT and Telecom Dr. Umar Saif, the Prime Minister praised the ministry’s work in harnessing Pakistan’s IT industry potential. He instructed government bodies like the Ministry of Finance, State Bank of Pakistan, Ministry of Trade and Commerce, Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR), and Ministry of Energy to cooperate closely with the Ministry of IT on this initiative.
The Prime Minister has approved and appreciated our plan for the Ministry of IT and Telecom:1. Enhance IT exports by institutionalising dollar retention accounts, IT corporate debit cards to enable easy flow of money in and out of retention accounts, streamlining tax issues and… pic.twitter.com/QAQPT4ObZ8— Umar Saif (@umarsaif) September 6, 2023
The new IT policy is designed to bolster Pakistan’s digital exports by introducing dollar retention accounts and streamlining money transfers through IT corporate debit cards. To fund various startups, the government plans to leverage venture capital, with an investment target of up to $1 billion.
Minister Saif highlighted Pakistan’s IT sector’s potential for $10 billion in digital exports with effective obstacle removal. The policy also seeks to bring in global online payment platforms like PayPal and Stripe and establish co-working spaces for 500,000 freelancers, possibly adding $3 billion annually to the economy.
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The ministry plans to create training programs for the youth to improve the service sector. Currently, 200,000 professionals are training to boost Pakistan’s IT exports to $5 billion.
The policy focuses on optimizing spectrum use through reforms like active sharing, taxation changes, regulations, and telecom incentives. These aim to prepare for a 5G auction in the next ten months.
Minister Saif highlighted that Pakistan is the seventh largest market for cell phones globally. As such, the ministry plans to incentivize local manufacturing and export of smartphones to further stimulate the IT sector.