July 11, 2003	Friday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 10, 1424

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ISLAMABAD, July 10: South Korea is keen to forge partnership with Pakistan and explore possibilities for investment and technology transfer in the field of information technology and telecommunication.

This was stated by South Korean ambassador to Pakistan, Jeon Bou-Guan, during a meeting with Federal Minister for Information Technology Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari on Thursday.

The Korean ambassador also extended an invitation to the minister to visit Seoul for interaction with major IT firms in the public and private sector with a view to forging joint partnerships.

“Our government is keen to forge a constructive relationship with Pakistan to explore possibilities of launching joint projects in the fields of IT and telecom,” Mr Bou-Guan said.

He told the minister that the Korean government and firms were keen to receive him in Seoul to explore ways to boost ties between the two countries in the areas of mutual interests.

Mr Bou-Guan said major multinationals in Korea were also eager to launch joint partnerships for manufacturing of IT and telecom products.

Mr Leghari thanked the Korean government for extending the invitation and hoped that the visit would prove to be a major boost mutual ties. Pakistan is also keen learn from the IT experiences of the public and private enterprises in Korea, he added.

He said Pakistan could draw on the expertise and human resource possessed by the Korean companies in successfully launching the e-government in the country.

Mr Leghari said the government wished to observe the operations of major Korean firms involved in the e-government to replicate their experiences after customizing and changing them to meet specific demands of the public and private sector in the country.

He said the Korean companies could also launch partnerships with major business groups in Pakistan many of whom had already approached his office to explore key areas of investment.

The minister also invited the Korean IT companies to set up their development centres in Pakistan given the huge potential the country offered in the areas of investment and return following the deregulation of the telecom sector.

“The deregulation era will mark the beginning of quality services at affordable prices in a fully competitive atmosphere,” he said, adding that tele density ratio in Pakistan currently stood at 2.7 per cent which was likely to jump up to 7-8 per cent with issuance of about 20 million new connections in the next four to five years.

The Korean envoy appreciated the efforts of the government to expand the telecommunication network in the country.