ISLAMABAD, March 2: The Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a US company to help the country's software sector compete in the global IT market, says an official statement.

"The MoU is an effort to establish a strategic collaboration and roadmap on advancing application development and business in networking and internet technologies," said Minister for Information Technology Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari on the occasion.

The minister believed that the MoU signed with the Cisco Systems would help Pakistani companies build applications and solutions that could be exported. "We intend to position Pakistan as a strong off shoring destination for the rest of the world by building upon the positive image of its IT services and products," said Mr Leghari who is also the chairman of the board of directors of the PSEB.

The MoU intends to provide software companies in Pakistan with the knowledge required for next generation software development. The minister said the MoU would be effective for two years and would have a high-powered steering committee consisting of three senior members from each side to monitor, evaluate and report on the progress of the initiative.

Mark De Simone, the company's vice-president in the Middle East and Africa, said the MoU reflected their commitment to establishing a strategic collaboration with Pakistan on advancing application development and business on a variety of issues. "We hope that this agreement will act as a catalyst to bolster Pakistan's software and IT industry," he said.