ISLAMABAD, May 22: The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the Pakistan Software Houses Association (Pasha) signed a memorandum of understanding to help the industry build a better IT-enabled Pakistan.

Pasha President Hamza Matin and the UNIDO Representative in Pakistan, Dr Carlos Chanduvi-Suarez signed the document at a ceremony held at the UN Information Centre on Wednesday.

Speaking on the occasion, Hamza Matin said, the agreement would open doors for the foreign investors to come and do business in Pakistan.

Dr Suarez hoped for greater cooperation with the umbrella organization of the software houses. Pasha is an umbrella organization of over 200 software houses in the country.

As per the memorandum, Pasha would play a lead role with the assistance of UNIDO in the growth of the software-driven IT industry in Pakistan.

It also aims at maintaining close interaction with federal, provincial and local governments on IT sector development and facilitation.

Both UNIDO and Pasha would play a vital role in development of vision, strategy and policy framework for the IT sector besides liaising with the government bodies for participation in international exhibitions and conferences for business development.

They would also work together in developing a liaison with all the IT sector interest groups specially telecommunications, infrastructure and education to align them with the industry requirements.

The two bodies agreed to promote standardization and adherence to established quality standards in IT companies besides creating awareness about benefits and facilitation in protection of intellectual property rights in Pakistan to encourage alliances and investments.

It would exploit and promote relationships and linkages with overseas Pakistanis, international bodies and investors to become a catalyst for use of information technology for government, business and the social sector in the country.

Both the organizations would train software houses for participation in the industrial development of Pakistan.

To realize the objectives, Hamza Matin said, “Pasha would have to expand beyond the boundaries within which it currently operates and a significant amount of capacity building would be required.”