ISLAMABAD, July 27: Pakistan on Tuesday told Iran that it was seeking direct fibre links with the neighbouring countries and was willing to establish such links with Iran on a priority basis given the brotherly and friendly ties between the two countries.

This was stated by information technology ministry secretary Khalid Saeed in a meeting with an Iranian delegation led by Dr M. Karampour, member of the board, Telecommunication Company of Iran.

The delegation included N.Yousef pour, member of the board, Infrastructure Company, and A.M.Z Mohtashemi, director planning and engineering affairs, Telecommunication Company, Iranian ministry of communication. The IT secretary was assisted by Nooruddin Baqai, member (Telecom), IT &T Division, and Syed Muhktar Ahmad, director-general (I/C) PTCL.

During the meeting, the Iranian delegation was briefed on telecom sector environment of Pakistan. The main areas of discussion were international fibre optic link between Pakistan and Iran and international roaming for mobile networks.

Both sides discussed steps to enhance cooperation between the two countries to improve telecommunication services with possibilities of meeting requirements of ECO and Central Asian States.

The IT secretary said the government policies had opened up vast investment opportunities in the country in the backdrop of deregulation of telecom sector. He said his ministry was offering free backup bandwidth through satellite for call centres.

Besides, centres of excellence for multimedia and graphic design for gaming and animation industry had also been set up. Similarly, programmes such as the training of human resources for call centres were also under way.

He said one of the major thrusts of the ministry was to create demand for the local IT professionals in the country. In this regard, the ministry had already launched different projects to create employment opportunities through industrial automation of small and medium enterprises.

The secretary also highlighted the importance of coordination between the private and public sector for targeting major government projects and maintaining quality standards to cope with the competition. He urged the private sector to work closely with the government to suggest new ways of developing IT sector in Pakistan.

The Iranian delegation, during the next two days, will hold separate meetings with the Pakistan Telecommunication Company concerning fibre optic cable link roaming between the two countries and efficient utilization of services. The two sides also agreed to have another meeting in the over all interest of telecom sector of the two countries to accelerate cooperation and overcome bottlenecks.