ISLAMABAD, Oct 10 (APP): Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif formally inaugurated the newly renamed Daanish IT Park (National Technology Park) on Saturday, hailing the country's first national technology facility as a crucial milestone for Pakistan's rapid economic progress and prosperity. Addressing the inaugural ceremony, the prime minister emphasized that the state-of-the-art facility brings incubation centres, innovation hubs, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), startups, and industry leaders together under one roof. …
PM inaugurates IT Park to drive tech-led growth
ISLAMABAD, Oct 10 (APP): Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif formally inaugurated the newly renamed Daanish IT Park (National Technology Park) on Saturday, hailing the country’s first national technology facility as a crucial milestone for Pakistan’s rapid economic progress and prosperity.
Addressing the inaugural ceremony, the prime minister emphasized that the state-of-the-art facility brings incubation centres, innovation hubs, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), startups, and industry leaders together under one roof.
He expressed strong optimism that the tech park would empower Pakistan’s youth and play a pivotal role in steering the nation toward becoming a developed country.
He said that once the technology park becomes fully operational, similar facilities would be established across the country and in all provinces, helping industry, agriculture, mining and minerals, and other key sectors grow.
The prime minister said the facility would host AI experts and act as a catalyst to promote different skills in the IT sector.
He said the foundation of this project was laid down during 2017-18 but what happened after it was a part of history.
He also commended the hard work and tireless efforts of the Minister of IT and her team and relevant authorities, which transformed ‘a sick project into a sound and healthy project’.
He further informed that he had directed the ministry to conduct transparent bidding, inviting renowned IT companies in the country and abroad to make the facility fully functional and keep it growing under internationally recognised SOPs without any interference from the government.
The prime minister said that Islamabad IT Park, would now onwards be called ‘Daanish IT Park’, highlighting the contributions made by Daanish schools in the education sector by providing quality education to talented students with poor backgrounds, and mentioned that due to their talents, those students had excelled in different fields.
He said moreover, Daanish University in Islamabad was also being established.
The ceremony was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, federal cabinet members, parliamentarians, CEOs, experts and students.
The prime minister said “it is not about brick and mortar, it is not about, a grand, wonderful building, it is about ecosystem, it is about innovation, having incubation centres, over there, skill development, vocational training, and centres where industrialists and entrepreneurs will be sitting, in front of great IT experts and AI experts, all of them, will be here, and this centre will act as a great catalyst to promote all these skills to all those who are ready to learn without wasting time.”
The prime minister, in his remarks, appreciated the support of the Korean government and the ambassador, and shared that he had visited Korea for the first time back in 1985, where he visited the headquarters of Daewoo, a steel plant and had meetings with many other companies.
He said that during his tenure as chief minister Punjab, they also brought Daewoo’s air-conditioned buses for the first time in Pakistan, in the city of Lahore.
The prime minister also lauded Korea’s economy and said the country was counted amongst those leading industrious countries of the world.
Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Pakistan Han Sungho, in his remarks, said that since the establishment of diplomatic relations 43 years ago, Korea and Pakistan had worked closely together based on mutual trust and friendship across various bilateral and multilateral domains.
Over the past four decades, he said Korea had contributed more than $US340 million dollars actively supporting Pakistan’s public’s welfare and socio-economic growth.
They were extending their development assistance to Pakistan with many Korean public agencies like EXIM, KOICA, KOPIA, KHA, and others, he added.
The ambassador said that as a global leader in IT and AI, the Republic of Korea is committed to ensuring that no individual or no country is left behind in the AI era, as they believed that AI could serve as a powerful tool to address their shared challenges such as crises, global health, and food security.
Under this vision, the Korean government, including the MOFA, KOICA, and the Ministry of Science and IT, was actively working to expand developed cooperation with Pakistan in the IT sector, he added.
Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunications Shaza Fatima Khawaja, addressing the ceremony, said that Pakistan’s first IT park was built in Lahore in the name of Arfa Karim Tower, (in the name of Microsoft’s youngest certificate holder at that time), leading to Pakistan’s first incubation centre.
Lauding the contributions of the prime minister during his tenure as chief minister Punjab, she said he had laid the foundation of e-facilitation centers all over Punjab. The e-libraries and public libraries were also established. While In Islamabad, the prime minister laid inaugurated Sahulat Centre for the residents.
She further highlighted that across Pakistan, in 65 districts, small technology centers had been built through public-private partnerships where children have access to the internet for 24 hours.
Whereas in 135 centers built under the prime minister’s leadership, children were benefiting, she added.
Chairman Pakistan Digital Authority Dr Sohail Munir, in his address, said that the prime minister’s vision for the Digital Nation Pakistan was a signature initiative.
He underlined the significance of a digital governance ecosystem upon which a government acted frictionlessly, proactively and anticipatory.
He further informed that in the last fiscal year, the country’s IT exports crossed $US4.5 billion.
Salim Ghuri, CEO NETSOL Technologies, said that there was a new opportunity for them in the shape of AI industry, which had emerged in a bigger way.
He stressed the need of trained and skilled people in IT field to meet the growing needs in different fields.
