Saturday, May 10, 2008, Jamadi-ul-Awwal 3, 1429    

Govt to provide growth environment for IT

Islamabad—Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunications Qamar-uz-Zaman Kaira has said that government is committed to providing an enabling environment for an accelerated growth of IT, human resource and industry.
The Minister expressed these views while talking to Humayun Bashir, Country General Manager of International Business Machines (IBM) Corporation, who called on the Minister at his chamber in the Parliament House here on Friday.
“Enumerating various initiatives taken by IBM the CGM said that IBM has been doing business in Pakistan directly or in collaboration with some ten different partners since its inception 56 years ago”.
He said that it was IBM that set up the first IT Centre in Larkana which was a direct initiative of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Shaheed back in 1993-94.
IBM has invested $ 0.8 Million in a one Million dollar total investment of setting up a Linux Lab at National University of Science and Technology (NUST), Rawalpindi. IBM has embarked upon yet another initiative of facilitating early learning for pre-school children under its “Kids Smart Initiative” by providing modular furniture with embedded computers in attractive colors in several schools in Sindh.
It was IBM which brought in specialist Trauma doctors from Harvard Medical School USA to train a large pool of Pakistani Doctors in effective trauma management.
Kaira appreciated IBM’S efforts and offered all possible support in furthering such initiatives. He reiterated that the ways and means of accelerating further growth in industry, if deemed necessary will be taken up with the concerned offices at the highest levels.—APP