Pakistan and UK to establish tech corridor to boost economy

Pakistan and the United Kingdom has launched an initiative to establish a tech corridor, to promote greater links and economic growth between the two countries. The initiative was launched in the British Parliament in London, as reported by Dawn. The tech corridor will provide a gateway for greater connectivity between the countries.

To form this initiative the “Tech London Advocates Pakistan (TLA)” brought together tech experts to promote collaboration, innovation, sharing of technical knowledge and to build stronger links between UK and Pakistan’s tech sector.

During the launching ceremony, Pakistan’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Mohammad Nafees Zakaria said that the IT sector in Pakistan is growing rapidly, and according to the experts it will grow further in the coming future. He also said that the “New York Times” called Pakistan the next software hub, and Upwork reported that Pakistan has the fifth largest number of software freelancers on its website.

Ms. Burns, the Trade Director to Pakistan speaking to the event said that the technology businesses in the UK are playing an important role in creating growth across the country. Technology is helping in financial services and high-value manufacturing to retail and agriculture.

She further stated, “London is ranked the second most connected place globally for tech. With the UK’s expertise and the untapped potential of Pakistan’s burgeoning sector, tech is a potentially high growth area for further collaboration, creating jobs and prosperity for both our countries”.

Chairman TLA, Naheed Afzal said, “The initiative to create a platform for tech businesses and entrepreneurs to connect, collaborate and share positive ideas and opportunities to the benefit of both the UK and Pakistan, countries which share such close links”.

Commissioner Zakaria informed, “The digital policy of Pakistan includes fiscal includes fiscal proposals including the extension of zero-rated income tax regime on IT and IT-enabled Services exports to 2030”.

Currently, Pakistan is working to establish Special Economic Zones (SEZs) for the IT sector in the country. These sectors will further encourage investment in information technology infrastructure in the country.