ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has launched the Special Technology Zones Authority (STZA), saying that it will create a space for foreign investors, indigenous companies, and educational and training institutes to collaborate for Information Technology (IT) driven industrial revolution in Pakistan.
Speaking at the launching ceremony of the STZA, the premier added that it would serve as the leading government body mandated to promote a national innovation system in Pakistan.
He expressed confidence that the establishment of technology zones in the country will help attract foreign investment, adding that expatriate Pakistanis including those in the United States (US) can benefit from the incentives being offered to IT companies.
“The launch marks the beginning of an era of a dedicated and integrated national knowledge-based ecosystem in the country,” he said.
The specific mandate of STZA is to lead the development of Special Technology Zones (STZs) in the country.
The zones will help increase high-tech exports of Pakistan and facilitate technology transfer from major global science and technology hubs.
The prime minister said that collaborative efforts and correct course of comprehensive national development through these STZs will lead to the utilisation of the potential of the country’s youth.
On the occasion, Amer Ahmed Hashmi, who has been appointed as the authority’s chairman, lauded the prime minister for taking a personal interest in the STZA’s establishment.
He said that the zones will foster skills development, job creation, technology transfer and new economic value generation.
The STZA chairman further said that the formation of industrial clusters has not only led to rapid industrialisation and social development of countries like China, Japan, and South Korea but is also the best global practice for high-speed growth and development.
