ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Thursday called for renewed efforts to achieve the shared goal of digital transformation and promoting joint initiatives with the Saudi-based Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO) to leverage the full potential of information and communications technologies (ICTs) for socio-economic development.
The foreign minister held a video call with the Secretary General of the DCO, Deemah Al Yahya, and commended the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for its initiative to form this new organisation that Pakistan joined as a founding member.
Reaffirming Pakistan’s commitment to its partnership with DCO, the foreign minister called for renewed efforts to achieve the shared goal of digital transformation and promoting joint initiatives to leverage the full potential of Information and communications technologies (ICTs) for socio-economic development.
The foreign minister expressed Pakistan’s desire to further enhance its engagement with DCO in the realms of digital economy, trade and investment.
Noting that Pakistan had a large pool of skilled IT professionals, the foreign minister underscored that Pakistan looked forward to exchanging best practices in the areas of entrepreneurship and innovation, and to explore investment opportunities through the DCO platform inter alia aimed at employment generation for the country’s youth.
Secretary General Al Yahya briefed the foreign minister on the strategic vision and ongoing programmes of the DCO. She also highlighted the vast opportunities for collaboration with Pakistan and expressed the desire to further strengthen the Organization’s ongoing partnership with Pakistan.
The DCO was established in November 2020 by five founding member states, including Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, to drive greater collaboration and cooperation across entrepreneurship, innovation, business growth and employment in a shared digital economy. Al Yahya was appointed as the DCO’s first secretary general for a term of four years in April 2021.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022