KARACHI, Aug 10: Sindh Governor Mohammedmian Soomro on Saturday morning inaugurated a three-day ITCN Asia 2002 exhibition at Karachi Expo Centre.

The governor was presented the plaque of Information Technology Commerce Network (ITCN) Asia 2002 at the ribbon cutting ceremony. Later, he visited the exhibition halls. Over 300 stalls have been set up at the exhibition.

Extra-ordinary security measures were taken in and around the Expo Centre, including installation of close circuit cameras at the gates and inside the premises of the centre.

There were long queues of visitors and vehicles at the gate because of security check.

The first day of the exhibition was only for visitors from government, trade and corporate sector.

Speaking as the chief guest at the inaugural session of the ITCN conference and exhibition at a local hotel, federal minister for science and technology, Prof Dr Atta-ur-Rehman, said that Pakistan had made a tremendous beginning in the realms of information technology.

The minister was of the view that during the last one-and-a-half years, the country had done fairly well in the field of information technology.

He said the four broad areas that have been focused on were education as that was very vital, infrastructure, enabling policies and incentives and that the IT must serve as an engine for economic development, poverty alleviation and for providing services to the people thus improving the quality of life.

Prof. Atta said we got ahead in all these four areas to the best of our ability and executing several decades’ work in just two years’ time.

He said presently some 20,000 schoolteachers were being trained across the country in a programme conducted jointly with Intel. Of these, up to 9,000 have already been trained and the rest would be trained by April next year.

In order to strengthen the 30 or so public sector universities in the country, sizable grants were given and this would start bearing fruits in the next three to four years.

The minister said that it was also decided to set up a large number of new universities to set up new campuses across the country.

He said such measures would lead to production of 70,000 to 80,000 high quality graduates in the country within the next four years or so and that this is going to make a tremendous difference.

Dr Atta stated that at present about 8,000 to 9,000 graduates are being produced and about 80 per cent were of sub-standard quality.

He pointed out that massive investment in the human resource development is taking place.

The minister said that we are relocating our satellite and this will be in place by the first week of December.

As an internet educational programme, 60 or so public and private universities would be linked up through high speed fibre access.

Prof. Atta also spoke in detail about the spread in provision of internet to cities, towns and villages, substantial reduction in bandwidth rates, programme that has been made towards the introduction of e-commerce, production of computers locally.

He declared that the bandwidth rate at 3,800 dollars per month for specialized service by the end of this month which is something fantastic.

The minister said we have a 100 per cent fibre backbone in the country now.

The minister said that the E-commerce laws have been approved by the cabinet some one month ago and the banks are putting their structures right so that they do trading on the internet. This created a platform for the e-commerce to take place in a major way.

He was of the view that the e-commerce provides a great deal of opportunities.

Prof. Atta expressed the desire that our country must be visible in this very field as steps that are being taken in e-commerce will open Pakistan in a major way for external trade.

Minister for Commerce and Industry Abdul Razzak Dawood said that mushroom growth of information technology institutes in the country will help create an awareness about the computer world.

He said the government had taken several measures to promote software industry in the country.

The government, he said, was doing away with all restrictions and allowed maximum incentives to the private sector to enter in the IT sector.

“Our liberal policies achieved results and today we are moving forward and making progress in the IT sector with the help of private enterprises.”

The minister asked the private entrepreneurs and participants of the IT business to focus on the basic requirement and needs of the emerging software market in the country and abroad.

He said that the government has taken an integrated approach with the assistance of Ministry of Science & Technology to computerise and link up all government departments and ministries on the internet.

Dawood said that already a number of government departments have set up their websites and anyone can get whatever information he wants from the available data.

Sindh Minister for Finance, Planning and Development, Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, said the present government is committed to generate business activities in the country and that all necessary facilities and incentives would be made available.

He was optimistic that Pakistan and in particular the city of Karachi would emerge as the regional hub of information technology.

NADRA chairman Brig (R) Saleem Ahmed Moeen and Jeh Shyan Wong, the Chief Operating Officer of CommerceNet Singapore, also spoke. The Director general of the Board of Investment, Arif Illahi, presented the vote of thanks.—APP