June 11, 2003	Wednesday	Rabi-us-Sani 10, 1424

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ISLAMABAD, June 10: The vice-president of Microsoft Europe, Middle East and Africa, Emre Berkin, on Tuesday said the Microsoft had long-term plans for Pakistan and was committed to assist the country in Information Technology (IT) development.

“I am convinced that Pakistan has the right people with the right focus to take this country to the next level of progress and prosperity,” he observed while briefing newsmen here on Tuesday.

During his two-day visit to Pakistan, Mr Berkin had detailed discussions with President Pervez Musharraf, Federal IT minister Awais Leghari, Federal Privatisation and Investment Minister Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, Senate chairman Mohammadmian Soomro and other senior government officials.

“I am pleased to see the drive, positive change and the eagerness of Pakistanis towards reforms and IT for the advancement of the country,” he observed.

He said his discussions with high government officials in Pakistan covered initiatives outlining programmes of investments and partnership between Microsoft and government of Pakistan.

The talks also revolve around Microsoft’s commitment to invest in IT academics and work towards providing students and public education entities access to reliable and genuine Microsoft software at a low cost. The government’s initiative and drive towards developing e-government and possibilities of providing Microsoft software for government workers were also discussed, he said.

Mr Berkin underlined that many nations in the Middle East and North Africa were blessed with learning and tradition, but were without the tools to assume leadership globally. “Issues with automation and application of technology hinder our region and were holding back these nations from the cutting edge in the field of business, education and governance,” he said. Mr Berkin was of the view that Pakistan was addressing such issues and was beginning to show promise.

He said countries like UAE, Egypt, Kuwait and Oman that had caught on to the technology wave in a big way and suggested that there were lessons that could be learnt from these countries, such as the initiative behind building an IT hub at Dubai Internet City, or the factors that encouraged investment in the IT infrastructure in Dubai.