May 03, 2008	Saturday	Rabi-us-Sani 26, 1429

TORONTO, May 2: There is a big scope of cooperation between Ottawa and Islamabad in the field of information technology, said the leader of Pakistan’s IT delegation here on Thursday.

Headed by Aon Ashraf Rana, Director, Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB), the 21-member delegation comprised representatives of 16 leading Pakistani IT and software development companies.

The delegation visited Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto where they met parliamentarians and officials of leading Canadian IT firms and banks.

While in Toronto, the delegation met John Wilkinson, the Provincial Minister for Research and Innovation, and Dr Shafiq Qaadri and Yasir Naqvi, members of Ontario’s Provincial Parliament.

The delegation also attended a reception hosted by Canada-Pakistan Business Council (CPBC).

Ashraf Rana told Dawn that Pakistan was making rapid progress in the field of information technology. “Our fast growing IT industry will be worth $11 billion in 2011,” he said.

He also said Pakistan had been promoting the brand image of its IT industry globally through participation in trade fairs and specialised exhibitions.

These fairs and exhibitions, he added, provide an interactive platform to PSEB member companies to practically demonstrate their capabilities and simultaneously promote Pakistan as an “attractive outsourcing gateway of the global IT industry”.

Speaking at a reception held here in honour of the delegation, Pakistan’s Consul General Tassaduq Hussain said his country was an attractive destination for IT services, especially for outsourcing as IT and telecommunication were among the fastest growing sectors in Pakistan.