New joint working group for IT to be established under CPEC
Islamabad: Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar has announced that a new joint working group for Information Technology (IT) was being established under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) framework.
“It has been agreed to start a new joint working group for information technology under the CPEC framework,” Umar tweeted. He said this step would open exciting opportunities for Pakistani tech companies.
The minister said the scope of CPEC continued to expand with both Pakistan and China fully committed to enhancing mutual economic ties.
He tweeted: “Scope of CPEC continues to expand with both countries fully committed to enhancing mutual economic ties. It has been agreed to start a new joint working group for information technology under the CPEC framework. This will open exciting opportunities for Pakistani tech companies.”
Meanwhile, the Board of Investment (BoI) said that considering the unique opportunity for Pakistan to relocate Chinese manufacturing base, the BoI had developed a dedicated Pakistan China Business-to-Business (B2B) Investment Portal in collaboration with the China Council for International Investment Promotion (CCIIP) for both Pakistan and Chinese companies.
Secretary BoI Fareena Mazhar told a consultative webinar here on how to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) that this will enable matchmaking of prospective businesses from both countries interested in investing in Pakistan to enter into joint ventures from China. The webinar was organised by the Project Management Unit (PMU) of BoI.
The webinar was attended by representatives from the prime minister’s office, Ministry of Planning Development and Special Initiatives, Chinese Embassy in Pakistan, National Development and Reforms Commission (NDRC), China and members from the Chinese and Pakistani academia, including the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE), China-Pakistan Study Centre, Institute of Strategic Studies, Islamabad, Nankai University, Tianjian, Fudan University, Shanghai, and Peking University, Beijing.
BoI Additional Secretary Khashihur Rehman stressed that unlike the first phase of CPEC based on a Government-to-Government (G2G) framework, the second phase now pertains to Business-to-Business (B2B) and people-to-people (P2P) ties.
“Therefore, key players from both sides must be taken on board to jointly initiate meaningful steps to attract Chinese sunset industries to Pakistan,” he said.
