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Pakistan is promoting increased global connectivity through a series of initiatives and the government is committed to transform the country into a knowledge-based economy, Finance Secretary Dr Waqar Maood Khan said on Saturday.

Speaking at an event ‘Global Connect Initiative’ at the World Bank, Washington, the finance secretary reiterated Pakistan’s resolve to support the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS), action lines and targets which were set under the agenda for sustainable developments goals (SDG).

The government was promoting increased global connectivity through a series of initiatives to defuse the broadband penetration and encourage numerous applications in provision of public services, he added.

The secretary appreciated the US government for launching the Global Connect Initiative (GCI) to provide internet access to an additional 1.5 billion people worldwide by 2020 and recognised that the GCI would go a long way in meeting the UN’s SDG of achieving internet access by 2030.

The finance secretary highlighted the World Bank’s recognition of tremendous growth of internet penetration in Pakistan from 2001 to 2014 on account of enabling policy environment, enormous growth potential and the private sector’s entrepreneurial spirit.

He said the government was determined to transform the country into a knowledge-based economy, adding that Vision 2025 envisaged digitising every school, college and the university in the country by 2025. He apprised the audience that as landmark progress for the future growth and development of the ICT, the government had approved the telecommunication policy 2015.

He further elaborated that the policy basically aimed to facilitate universally available, affordable and quality telecom services through open, competitive and adequately regulated markets. The policy, he emphasised, would help bridge digital divide.

In 2014, the government of Pakistan’s fair auction of 3G and 4G licenses earned USD 1.2 billion for the national exchequer and also facilitated investment of USD 1.3 billion in rolling out 3G/4G networks and infrastructure in the country.

The secretary said that there were nearly 29.3 million broadband subscribers in the country of which 26.1 million were using 3G/4G services. He said that the government of Pakistan was also gradually shifting public services on e-platforms.

In this regard, debit cards had been issued to beneficiaries of Benazir Income Support Programme which would further be replaced with biometric cards particularly to enable women to draw funds from ATMS through simple fingerprint scan, he added.

The finance secretary also shared that the State Bank of Pakistan, in partnership with banking and financial institutions and telecom providers, had developed a robust policy and regulatory framework for mobile/branchless banking to achieve universal financial inclusion in Pakistan.

The revenues from Universal Service Fund were utilised to provide telephonic, internet and broadband services, he added. The ICT industry was also being encouraged to develop applications that facilitated e-agriculture, e-health, e-learning, e-security, e-connectivity and e-commerce, the secretary maintained. “An e-commerce gateway has also been established in the country to promote digital trade in the country.”

The finance secretary reaffirmed the government of Pakistan’s support of all global initiatives and work programmes including the target specific global connect initiative of the state department to achieve the global connectivity objectives.

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Quelle/Source: Pakistan Today, 16.04.2016

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