ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Syed Amin Ul Haque on Wednesday said the target for IT exports has been set at $5bn to be achieved by FY23.

The Federal Minister was addressing the IT Export Awards 2019 ceremony here, organised by Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) and said all necessary arrangements have been made to establish an IT Park in Islamabad and its groundbreaking will be done at the end of this year.

“While the IT Park in Gilgit will be inaugurated soon and the work is also underway on development of IT Park in Karachi,” he added.

He said that the role of IT in the country’s development and economic growth was vital, and the government is keenly interested in working closely with the sector and implementing policies and measures that will effectively energise both exports and domestic technology adoption.

Haque highlighted that IT export earnings reached a record level of $1.23bn in FY20, recording 23.71 per cent year-on-year growth.

“We are setting a target of $5bn in IT export remittance by FY23 and will provide all the necessary support to achieve it,” the Federal Minister for IT added.

He said that Pakistan’s IT industry has reached an important milestone in its journey and has positioned itself to become one of the leading countries in the software and outsourcing services market.

The speakers highlighted that the coronavirus pandemic has opened new doors for the IT sector, stressing the importance of digitisation in almost all spheres of life.

Published in Dawn, August 20th, 2020