Empowerment of youth especially women is the topmost priority of Ministry of IT. Pakistan can become digital hub regarding IT experts, better facilities & time zone for SCO member countries: Syed Amin

Pakistan can become digital hub regarding IT experts, better facilities & time zone for SCO member countries: Syed Amin Ul Haque

ISLAMABAD ( Web News )

Pakistan and Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) have agreed to increase bilateral cooperation in Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Services and digital connectivity.

The agreement was reached at a meeting between Secretary General of SCO Zhang Ming and Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Syed Amin Ul Haque in Islamabad on Thursday.

The Minister said Pakistan can become digital hub regarding IT experts, better facilities and time zone for SCO member countries.

Amin Ul Haque said that the IT sector of Pakistan has great potential and the Ministry of IT is playing effective role for the development of IT and Telecommunication sector of Pakistan. He said empowerment of youth especially women is the topmost priority of Ministry of IT.

SCO Secretary General Zhang Ming paid tribute to Federal Minister for the important steps taken in the field of IT and Telecommunication. He lauded steps for empowerment of women, data protection, and provision of broadband services in un-served and underserved areas of the country.

It is worth mentioning here that the Secretary General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Ambassador Zhang Ming arrived in Islamabad on four-day visit. He is heading a delegation comprising officials from the SCO Secretariat based in Beijing.

According to a statement issued by Foreign Office Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar Ahmad on Thursday, during his stay, the Secretary General will have meetings with the Foreign Minister as well as Ministers of Commerce, Climate Change, Information Technology and Maritime Affairs. He will also speak at the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI) and engage with business leaders and entrepreneurs.

The SCO is a major trans-regional multilateral organization with 8 members including China and Russia. SCO countries are home to 41% of the global population and account for 23% of global GDP.

The SCO provides an important platform for Pakistan to further strengthen its deep-rooted and historic ties with the member states and promote socio-economic cooperation for mutual benefit across diverse areas.

The visit of the SCO Secretary General will provide an opportunity for Pakistan to engage with the SCO Secretariat while highlighting its perspective and priorities for making SCO mechanisms more effective in advancing shared regional security and economic goals.