“Facilitating IT Sector to create huge employment opportunities for the tech-savvy youth in the country is the government’s top priority,” Prime Minister Imran Khan said while chairing the fourth meeting of the Board of Governors of the Special Technology Zones Authority (STZA).
“Special Technology Zones are being established in major cities to facilitate IT professionals. For this purpose, Compliance Regime has been introduced in place of NOC Regime,” he added.
The Prime Minister stated that youth make up approximately 68 percent of our population, and that the IT sector has the capacity to employ them actively for socioeconomic betterment.
The Board of Governors had previously approved declaring various technology and innovation clusters in Islamabad as Special Technology Zones in order to create an enabling environment for the IT sector to make use of existing infrastructure to grow tech companies and freelancers.
The Prime Minister instructed the relevant authorities to take all necessary steps to create a tech-friendly ecosystem in the country.
Tax breaks for registered Tech Startups and freelancers, the formation of the Pakistan Technology Startup Fund, and encouraging local and international VC funding in startups are among the measures.
Finance Minister Shaukat Fayyaz Tarin and Information Minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain were present during the meeting. Muhammad Hammad Azhar, Minister of Energy, Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar, Minister of Industries, Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar, SAPM on Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Sania Nishtar, SAPM on Political Communication, Dr. Shehbaz Gill, Chairman STZA, Amir Hashmi, Chairman CDA, Amir Ali Ahmed, and other senior officers involved
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