ISLAMABAD: Pakistan needs information technology (IT) and IT enabled services with a digital trade policy framework to embrace the evolving environment, says a new World Bank report on economic policy for export competitiveness in Pakistan.

The ingredients for a successful reform strategy should include interventions in three policy areas: regulatory capabilities and governance, sector-specific policies and complementary supporting policies.

The report, ‘Digital Pakistan: A Business and Trade Assessment’ said that it is still unclear what the post-Covid-19 business landscape will look like, but IT and IT-enabled services will play a more prominent role than they do today. In addition, automation and artificial intelligence will play a more significant role in this industry, it says.

Pakistan is the second highest exporter of information, communication and technology (ICT) services from South Asia, after India, with more than $1 billion in exports. Although export growth has been robust in the past few years, Pakistan’s market share of computer services exports has remained low, at around 0.2 per cent.

With a stable base, low cost of operations, a growing domestic market and a reasonably strong network of overseas workers across the world, the industry has a lot of growth potential. However, skills mismatch and poor infrastructure problems, high tariffs and inefficient tax regimes and poor perception as an IT investment destination due to economic and other factors are holding the industry back.

Published in Dawn, June 14th, 2020