A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Pakistan Software Export Board, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Technology Board, and the University of Science and Technology, Bannu to establish the province’s first software technology park.
The MoU was signed here on Wednesday by Osman Nasir, Managing Director-PSEB, Prof. Dr. Khair Uz Zaman, Vice Chancellor-University of Science and Technology, Bannu, and Dr. Sahibzada Ali Mahmud, MD KP IT Board.
Syed Amin Ul Haq, Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication, Muhammad Atif Khan, Minister for Science, Technology and Information Technology in KPK, Dr. Sohail Rajput, Federal Secretary for Information Technology, and senior officials from the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication attended the signing ceremony.
Syed Amin Ul Haq, the Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunications, stated during the event that Pakistan’s IT industry has grown significantly in terms of size and exports. The current government is emphasising on the development of the information technology industry in Pakistan’s secondary and tertiary cities in order to promote comprehensive economic growth outside the country’s major technology hubs, he explained.
He underlined the importance of tight collaboration between the IT industry and public sector entities in order to ensure Pakistan’s IT sector’s comprehensive growth.
Atif Khan, KPK’s Minister for Science, Technology, and Information Technology and Food, said the Federal Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunications is taking commendable measures toward realising the objective of a digital Pakistan.
He stated that the KPK administration desired to collaborate with the Federal Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunications on IT promotion.
Dr. Sohail Rajput, Secretary IT, stated that the Memorandum of Understanding for the establishment of a Software Technology Park in Bannu is a significant achievement because it encompasses multifaceted cooperation in terms of establishing a software technology park on the university campus, facilitating startups and freelancers, and strengthening industry-academia ties for the region’s holistic growth of the IT industry.
Osman Nasir, Managing Director of PSEB, stated that seven software technology parks totaling 153,949 sq. Since January 2021, ft have been established.
is well on its way to establishing software technology parks at universities throughout the country, including the Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology (SSUET) in Karachi, the NED University of Engineering and Technology in Karachi, and the Quaid-e-Awam University of Engineering, Sciences, and Technology (QUEST) in Nawabshah.
Currently, Pakistan has 19 software technology parks totaling 1.2 million square feet. ft of space dedicated to technology enterprises, he claimed.