25 January 2004	Sunday	02 Zilhaj 1424

DAVOS, Jan 24: President Gen Pervez Musharraf on Saturday invited Microsoft to invest in Pakistan and use it as a hub of IT activity in the region.

The president, in a meeting with Microsoft chairman Bill Gates, invited him to take the benefit of a conducive investment climate in Pakistan and invest there.

He said Pakistan was fast becoming one of the hubs of IT and provided highly qualified professional manpower.

He informed him of the initiatives taken by the government in the IT sector and the progress made in e-commerce and e-governance.

Bill Gates said Microsoft will help Pakistan achieve its objectives in the sector.

He said the Gates Foundation, working under the United Nations in the health sector, "can further expand its scope" and asked for proposals from the government to identify sectors where it could concentrate.

The president also held a meeting with the Novartis chief executive Daniel Varsel. He asked him to take the benefit of Pakistan's location and use it as a hub for expanding its market into the central Asian republics. -APP