Islamabad: Pakistan and China are looking to enhance their bilateral cooperation in the sector of Information & Communication Technology (ICT), a news source reported on September 14. Both countries will likely sign an MoU for this purpose in the near future — once the cabinet approves the partnership.
According to the details shared, the expected partnership between the Ministry of Industry and IT of China and the Ministry of IT & Telecommunication (MoIT&T) of Pakistan is in line with Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s vision for the promotion of ICT sector in the country. Sources said that the Chinese Embassy had already submitted a draft MoU in this regard, along with the intimation of a proposal to sign it.
The proposed bilateral cooperation will involve the two countries working on achieving several objectives related to the development of regional infrastructure. These include the development of smart technologies, cloud centres, and internet exchange points, etc. The collaboration’s framework also covers the establishment of a state of the art centre of excellence, with a focus on components like Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence (AI), 5G, cloud technologies, nanotechnologies, and Robotics.
Under this partnership, China and Pakistan may also provide access to funds allocated for supporting international or regional technology research and innovation as part of the Belt & Road Initiative (BRI) or other relevant programmes.
