Ghauri named first Australian honorary consul to Punjab

Chairman NetSol Technologies Ltd, Pakistan, a multinational provider of enterprise software, Salim Ghauri, has been appointed first Australian Honorary Consul to the province of Punjab.
Australian High Commissioner to Pakistan Zorica McCarthy, acting on behalf of Australia's Minister for Foreign Affairs, extended recognition of a new Honorary Consul for the province of Punjab. Ghauri was bestowed the role of first Honorary Consul for the province of Punjab in Pakistan at a ceremony attended by Ms McCarthy.
Speaking on the occasion, Ms McCarthy stated, 'The appointment of the first honorary-consul in Lahore is representative of the rising economic and cultural interests between Australia and Pakistan'. She said that Lahore is home to many Pakistani Australians and as the capital of the Punjab province it is an important center of intellectual as well as cultural discourse and is pivotal to the economic development of Pakistan.
Lahore's importance as a commercial center increasingly features the high tech arena, where bilateral business opportunities continue to grow and Australia's strengths are recognised by local leaders, she added.
According to Australia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Pakistan has been declared one of the top emerging countries in the region. Ghauri in his new role will have the aim of enhancing business relations between the two nations, apart from promoting cross investment, trade and commerce opportunities, and addressing any challenges that may be faced by companies and investors doing business in Pakistan.
Talking to Business Recorder, Salim Ghauri said that Pakistan's IT industry would have big share in the country's GDP in next few years. He was of the view that Pakistan is moving fast in IT sector and within next few years many opportunities will emerge for people associated with the IT sector.
Salim further said that NetSol Technologies Ltd, Pakistan, is going to establish Netsol Alumni, which will set up Netsol Technology Institute for preparing a crop of IT professionals. In the proposed Institute people from all age will be registered for admission in diploma courses in IT sector.
In the first phase, the programme is being launched from Lahore but afterward it will be replicated in other major cities to prepare a team of Netsol certified professionals, he said, adding that this initiative of Netsol will help tackle growing requirements of IT professionals in the country.
Answering a question, he said that Netsol has taken leadership position in country's IT sector because we have set some good examples. To another query, Salim further said that Pakistan's IT sector is facing a serious threat due to piracy. 'If IPR laws are not implemented in letter and spirit it will be difficult to promote IT sector in Pakistan. Netsol has, however, advanced technology and an edge in this regard because its software cannot be copied', he added.
He further said that our private sector needs to promote corporate culture for facing the challenges in the globalised competitiveness environment. 'We have big labour force of young people and with proper utilisation of their energies, we can become economic tiger in Asia', he opined. Salim Ghauri further said that IT has no boundaries because only there was demand of only quality software's at international level. He said that Indian IT Industry is big in size as compared to Pakistan, however, India may face stiff competition from China in near future.
Praising the IT Minister Owais Leghari, he stated that governments supports quality and information security certification of IT companies in order to enhance their international competitiveness. He also acknowledged the role being played by Higher Education Commission for promoting IT culture in the country.
To another query, Salim stated that Netsol has less clientage of local private sector, which usually give preference to the foreign IT companies. However, he stated that Netsol is getting lead in various projects being given by the country's public sector.