ISLAMABAD (MEDIA)
The World Bank ICT Mission called on the Minister of State for IT on 23rd September 2013 regarding future developments in the Information and Communication and (ICT) policies. The mission was represented by Ms. Tenzin Dolma Norbhu, Team Leader and Regional ICT Coordinator, who met with the Minister of State for IT, Ms. Anusha Rehman, and Secretary IT, Mr. Ikhlaq Ahmed Tarar, at the Ministry of Information Technology (MoIT) to discuss possible collaborations on ICT projects.
In the meeting, the Minister of State for IT explained to the mission the efforts that have been started by the new government and the vision that has been formulated for the ICT sector in the next 5 years. The mission was keen in sharing its view point on what they considered as their key objectives while working with the Government of Pakistan.
The main purpose of the mission was to exchange views on recent developments in the ICT sector with the help of the World Bank, and the progress of the telecommunications and ICT sector policy reforms and development under the Institutional Development Fund (IDF) grant. The IDF grant agreement and it implementation is in progress within the Government of Pakistan for the development of the ICT sector through innovative and action-oriented capacity-building activities.
The mission also discussed the proposal for the Technology Development Projects that shall be initiated through the establishment and set up of holistic Technology Parks and Center of Excellence for developing open source software and associated activities. This would be under taken as part of the latest strategic mechanisms to provide incentives and benefits to the ICT stakeholders in the country.
The meeting ended on a positive note after clarifications on the progress that has been achieved thus far and the collaborative targets that must be accomplished as agreed on by the mission and the Government. The World Bank team shall continue to hold talks in the upcoming days with relevant Ministry officials regarding different ICT themed matters which are also under the focus of the mission, and proceed with completion of formalities to achieve targets within shortest timelines.