ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has directed the authorities concerned to take all possible measures for the creation of tech-friendly ecosystem in the country.

While chairing 4th meeting of the Board of Governors of the Special Technology Zones Authority (STZA), the prime minister stated these measures included tax holiday for the registered tech Start-ups and freelancers, launch of Pakistan Technology Start-up Fund, and attracting local and foreign venture capital (VC) funding in start-ups.

He further stated that to facilitate the information technology (IT) sector is government top priority because it can create huge employment opportunities for the tech-savvy youth in the country.

He said that the STZ are being established in major cities to facilitate IT professionals and for this purpose compliance regime has been introduced in place of NOC regime.

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He highlighted that youth constitutes around 68 percent of our population, and IT sector has the full potential to engage them productively for socio-economic uplift.

Earlier, the Board of Governors approved to declare various technology and innovation clusters in Islamabad as STZ to create enabling environment for the IT sector to utilise existing infrastructure for the growth of tech start-ups and freelancers.

The meeting was attended by Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, Energy Minister Hammad Azhar, Industries Minister Khusro Bakhtyar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation Dr Sania Nishtar, SAPM on Political Communication Dr Shehbaz Gill, Chairman STZA Amir Hashmi, Chairman Capital Development Authority (CDA) Amir Ali Ahmed, and other senior officers concerned.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022