The “OICCI Recommendations for Digital Economy” report was launched on January 18th, 2021, it highlighted the shift required to boost the economy through a new digitalized approach, the report has noted that Pakistan’s IT services exports have the potential to reach $10 billion.
The report highlighted, that digitizing most, if not all, key segments of the economy could lead towards boosting IT exports to US$10 billion annually, provide significant growth to GDP, attract billions of dollars of FDI and create hundreds of thousands of new jobs within a short time.
OICCI digital recommendations highlight the importance of the shift to skill development from academic degrees to ensure productive and effective participation of Pakistani talent in a new economy that is growing much faster and attracting capital globally.
Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry had also earlier tweeted in this regard encouraging the youth towards acquiring education in digital skills rather than getting traditional academic degrees.
اگر آپ کو پڑھنے سےدلچسپی نہیں اور فون پر ویڈیو گیمز سےرغبت ہے تو تیاری رکھیں @MinistryofST ویڈیو گیمز پروگرامنگ کا خصوصی پروگرام لارہی ہے تا کہ ہم 90 ارب ڈالر کی اس انڈسٹری کاحصہ بن سکیں، Animation اور ویڈیو گیمز سرٹیفیکیشن پروگرام نوجوانوں کیلئے Game ہی نہیں Game Changer ہوں گے
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) November 24, 2020
Highlighting potential IT exports, OICCI President Haroon Rashid said, “Whereas IT exports from Pakistan are only $1 to $2 billion, Philippines, with half the population of Pakistan, exports IT services of about $30 billion, while India’s IT exports are over $190 billion and many other Asian countries are also well ahead of Pakistan, which should be a cause of great concern to the authorities but at the same time could be a motivational factor as Pakistan has great potential to boost its IT exports with focused short and medium-term strategy and its delivery by the key stakeholders, as recommended in the OICCI Recommendations for Digital Economy report.”
The OICCI report further highlights the importance of stable and inclusive regulatory practices to ensure effective participation of global players in the platform economy to attract FDI and to make a significant positive impact on GDP growth while also connecting Pakistan to global e-commerce and creative economy opportunities.
OICCI appreciated Special Technology Zones (STZs) recently inaugurated by Prime Minister Imran Khan, which hopefully will benefit the country in the medium to longer term.
Read Also
Good News! Esports Now Enlisted As a Sport In Pakistan
OICCI’s digital recommendations cover six key areas including connectivity, digital financial system, export growth, and digital skills, platforms & e-commerce ecosystem, innovation & regulatory environment, and digital governance and citizen Services.
With a highly improved security environment, duly recognized by independent sources, and an attractive operating cost, in terms of hard currencies, following massive depreciation of the rupee, the OICCI emphasized the need for sustained and structured efforts for improving the global image of Pakistan as an attractive destination for FDI, especially for large international technology players.