ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication on Thursday hosted Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) virtual conference on Youth Empowerment through Digital Economy.
Delegates from the 8 member states of SCO, including Iran, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyz Republic, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, along with the SCO Secretariat, participated in the conference.
Public and private sector representatives across SCO member states, including senior leadership from Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA), also attended the conference.
The objective of the conference was to provide SCO member states with an opportunity to exchange knowledge, best practices, and lessons learned in building an enabling ecosystem for the inclusion of youth in the digital economy.
In his inaugural address, Federal Secretary IT and Telecom Hassan Nasir Jamy welcomed the participants and highlighted the government of Pakistan’s multipronged strategy to digitally empower youth.
The strategy, he said,
included addressing the digital divide, emphasizing IT education and skill development, and fostering digital entrepreneurship, innovation, and freelancing.
The Federal Secretary informed the participants about the government’s initiatives, including the establishment of 10,000 E-Rozgar centers across the country to facilitate freelancers and a network of National Incubation Centers (NICs) to nurture innovation through the startup ecosystem.
He also mentioned the recently created Pakistan Startup Fund, where the government will invest up to Rs. 2 billion annually.
Regarding the digital environment, the secretary highlighted various policies introduced by the government, such as the National Cyber Security Policy-2021, Pakistan Cloud First Policy 2022, Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) Rules 2023, and the establishment of National and Sectoral CERTs.
Zhang Ming, the SCO Secretary-General, also addressed the participants, and said that digital technology has the potential to enable youth entrepreneu
rship and lower barriers associated with it.
The participants praised the efforts of the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication for successfully hosting the conference.