While addressing the Digital Cooperation Organization’s (DCO) virtual meeting, the minister said, The DCO held a forum alongside the UN General Assembly, inviting the ministers from all seven member countries. The aim of the event was to discuss the role of the DCO in building an inclusive digital age.
Govt Aimed to Bridge Rural-Urban Digital Divide: IT Minister
Ministers from all member countries i.e., Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Nigeria, Oman, and Saudi Arabia including Pakistan attended the meeting. Whereas, Maria-Francesca Spatolisano, Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs of UN also joined the session. See Also: IT Ministry to Expand Google’s CS First Program to entire Pakistan The rise of the digital economy, accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic, transformed the world. He further added, He mentioned Pakistan had been named one of the fastest-growing economies in Asia in Mckinsey & Co’s latest report on the Pakistani ecosystem. “Being a founding member of DCO, the Government of Pakistan fully endorses that DCO is actively pursuing its vision of achieving social prosperity and growth of the digital economy by unifying efforts to advance the digital transformation agenda and promote common interests of the member states.”
During the fiscal year 2020-21, Pakistan’s IT exports increased 47.4 per cent and crossed the $2 billion mark for the first time in the country’s history.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) ranked Pakistan among the best countries in terms of the affordability of ICT services. According to International Labour Organization (ILO), Pakistan is the 2nd largest supplier of online labour in software development and technology. Pakistan substantially improved its position in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business report. The IT minister said the government had a vision of accelerated digitisation and transformation of Pakistan into a knowledge-based economy. He further said the DCO was an ideal platform for Pakistan and other countries. They learn from each other by working together and collaborating at the regional level. Recommended: ECP Urged to Encourage Use of EVMs for Transparent Voting Source: The News
