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NEWSBITS
Minister for setting up telecom institute
Minister for Information Technology Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari has called for setting up a training institution-cum-centre of excellence having linkages with telecom institutions all over the world.
He expressed these views during his visit to the National Telecommunication Corporation (NTC) headquarters on Wednesday. The minister was given a detailed presentation by the NTC chairman, Rear Admiral Shahid Farooq, on the role of the corporation, its objectives, its ongoing and future projects and problems being faced in achieving the desired targets.
Mr Leghari asked the NTC to facilitate new local loop and LDI operators for economic growth of the country. He also urged the corporation to prepare viable, cost effective, revenue generating business proposals for optimum utilization of NTC assets.
“We need such business proposals to strengthen projects which require specialized human resource,” he said. The minister appreciated the NTC’s efforts to train its existing manpower to meet the challenging requirement of data and voice rather than new induction.
He was happy to note that the NTC, in spite being a public- sector organization, was being run on commercial and corporate lines. He, however, asked the corporation to upgrade its long haul optical fibre network to generate healthy competition in the field in the larger interest of IT and telecom sectors.
He desired that the NTC should be a self-sufficient and financially-independent organization and should generate resources to undertake its development projects while his ministry would facilitate and help the corporation by providing complete support in achieving its targets.
Mr Leghari urged the corporation to extend quality services to its customers and adopt an aggressive market strategy for providing data and telephony systems.
He acknowledged the role of the NTC in establishing and commissioning the Pakistan Educational Research Network (PERN) and emphasized the need of aggressive marketing to penetrate the private market to sell various services of NTC in the deregulated environment.
The minister appreciated the progress of the NTC in achieving high standards in discharging its responsibilities for provision of quality telecom and data services to its subscribers. — Sci-tech World Report
HEC signs MoU for higher education in Holland
The Higher Education Commission (HEC) and the Netherlands Organization for International Corporation in Higher Education (NUFFIC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) here on Tuesday.
The MoU was signed by the Higher Education Commission chairman, Dr Attaur Rahman, and the NUFFIC president, Dr P.J.C.Van Dijk.
Expressing his views on the occasion, Dr Atta said, “the MoU is part of sustainable socio-economic development programmes of the HEC and we are proud of the fact that the Netherlands government is providing us with such an opportunity.” He further said that the MoU would add a new chapter of future collaboration of programmes between the two countries.
The MoU aims at facilitating a fellowship programme for higher studies of university teachers of Pakistan in the Netherlands. It desires for striving to foster cooperation between the two institutions and to streamline the procedure and other related matters concerning the fellowship programme for higher studies of Pakistani university teachers in the Netherlands universities.
Under the MoU, as many as 50 candidates for postgraduate/ doctorate degree studies would be sent to the Netherlands. It further states that on behalf of and in close coordination with the HEC, as well as with the Netherlands universities.
The MoU will enter into force on the date of signatures which is May 25, and will be valid for a period of six years and automatically extended year by year. — Sci-tech World Report
Ideal climate for IT investment: Awais
Minister for Information Technology Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari last week announced that the government had provided ideal business climate and investment opportunities to foreign investors in IT and telecom sectors of Pakistan.
“We not only want the foreign companies to start their operations in Pakistan but also want them to invest in the human resource development so that the country can produce world-class IT-enabled services and products.”
Mr Leghari expressed these views in a meeting with Michael Weaver, vice-president and global head, and Daniel Monahan, director and worldwide head, of a foreign IT firm, who called on him to apprise him of their plans to expand their regional IT hub to Pakistan from Europe and Middle East-Africa region.
The minister said a tremendous response by foreign investors to the policies introduced by the government in the telecom sector reflected on the level of confidence they had in Pakistan as a potential market growing at a fast pace.
Mr Weaver reiterated his company’s renewed commitment to Pakistan for making this region “IT savvy with more focus on services and trainings.” He said his company was setting up a centre of excellence in Pakistan to add value to its products and services. “We have already employed 50 top-class local professionals and plan to add another 150 in the next 12 months,” he said.
Daniel Monahan also appreciated the governmental policies which, he said, were very conducive to attract more investment to Pakistan. Pakistan to help Kabul: Minister for Information Technology Awais Ahmed Khan Leghari here on Tuesday held a meeting with Dr Nanguyalai Tarzi, Afghanistan’s ambassador to Pakistan, to discuss mutual cooperation in the fields of telecommunication.
He told the ambassador that Pakistan wanted to help Afghanistan improve its telecommunication facilities. The ambassador briefed the minister on the reconstruction efforts underway in his country and plans to lay a railway track that would run from Quetta and pass through Afghanistan to link up with Zahedan in Iran. — Sci-tech World Report
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