Finnish delegation takes interest in uplifting ICT sector of Pakistan

Finnish delegation takes interest in uplifting ICT sector of Pakistan

Islamabad: A high-level delegation of Allied ICT Finland (AIF) led by Matti Saren, a Senior Board Member of AIF, called upon Dr. Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication to discuss areas of bilateral interest related to Human Capital Development in Pakistan on European Standards.

Allied ICT Finland (AIF) is a Government based organization and a collaborative network which acts as a national ecosystem for applying and enabling ICTs globally. The AIF Forum consists of 19 Finnish Universities and ICT research institutes, 3000+ researchers and more than 1200 companies Saren apprised the Federal IT Minister about the developments taking place in the European ICT Sector and how AIF consortium of universities and researchers can help Pakistani youth in applied ICT skills of international standards.

He also informed the IT Minister about the global market ICT dynamics and trends related to emerging technologies and the type of expertise which will be required in the coming 20 years and how Pakistan should prepare itself for catering the global market requirements through high impact short termed ICT vocational courses and certifications.

During the meeting, Dr. Siddiqui shared his views about Human Capital Development and termed Pakistani Youth as the “Asset” of the nation. He further added that in order to ensure larger inclusion and to take the opportunity to the grassroots, Digital Space can be pivotal and the Ministry is looking into developing programs where masses could be targeted maximally and at low cost.

Siddiqui emphasized on the quality of human resources and their applied skill set so that the overall wage structure of Pakistani Professionals could improve in the international market adding the National Economic Growth. He concluded the meeting by directing his team to further look into possible collaboration in this regard.

Talking to media after meeting, Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunication Dr. Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui said that we have to digitalize Pakistan through our youth. He said that a Regulatory Authority will be formed for IT education. He said that work is underway regarding e-governance. He said that Finland is leading in IT education in the world.