ISLAMABAD: Science & Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhry said on Wednesday that the country needs to adopt latest technologies in order to meet modern-day challenges and to keep up with the fast-moving world.
Talking to a private news channel, the minister said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government, under the leadership of Prime minister Imran Khan, is committed to taking revolutionary and exemplary steps towards IT advancement.
Fawad Chaudhry assured that the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) would leave no stone unturned in raising technological awareness at the grassroots level.
“Pakistan will soon become the hub of technological advancement,” he asserted, adding that the MoST is playing a key role in the development of technology, particularly in the medical and agriculture sectors.
The minister urged the agricultural scientists, researchers and experts to adopt modern agricultural technologies to increase crop production, as that would also ensure food security in the country.
On a query, he said social media, especially Facebook, has become the most powerful medium in the modern-day world; it can become an effective source for dissemination of useful information, provision of entertainment and promotion of businesses.
“We can make social media secure if we launch a China-based app on a local level in Pakistan,” he added.
The minister said that the PTI government wants to regulate social media, which is not possible without active collaboration with global social media giants including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and others.
On another query, he said the government would ensure availability of broadband across the country so as to support e-commerce activities.
He stressed the need to promote the culture of entrepreneurship in the country, as “it is a unique skill and only the private sector has the ability to take it forward”.
Fawad Chaudhry said the IT industry can play a major role in bolstering the economy of Pakistan as demonstrated by many other countries.
“Unlike other industries, the IT industry does not require heavy machinery, it is mainly dependent on capable people,” he said. “The Pakistani IT industry is beginning to come of age and is strongly emerging as a global IT destination.”
