KARACHI: Minister of State for Information Technology Anusha Rahman has invited Huawei, a China-based telecommunications equipment and services company, to assemble and manufacture mobile handset and network equipment in Pakistan and requested for business proposal in this regard.

On a visit to Huawei exhibition booth at the GSMA Mobile World Congress being held in Barcelona, Spain, from Feb 24-27, she suggested holding a workshop in Islamabad to explore this and other research and innovation options in Pakistan.

Ms Rahman said Huawei is already present in the country but further cooperation is needed. She hoped that the company’s global leadership and technology superiority would help Pakistan achieve its goals in the telecommunication and IT sector.

David Wang, the president of Huawei Global Government Affairs Dept, and Huawei Pakistan CEO Simon Geng updated the minister about Huawei’s 2013 performance in the global arena.

They also talked about the upcoming 3G and 4G auction in Pakistan.

Mr Wang said would like to work together with the Pakistan government to promote the social and economic development with its own ICT expertise and technology strengths.

Award: Easypaisa, a joint venture of Telenor Pakistan and Tameer Microfinance Bank, was announced the winner of Best NFC/Mobile Money Product or Service and Best Mobile Product or Service for Women in Emerging Markets at the 19th Annual GSMA Global Mobile Awards 2014 held on the first day of the event.

Easypaisa was among 160 nominees across 38 categories, selected from over 680 high-quality entries from across the global mobile ecosystem, a press release said.