Federal Minister IT & Telecom Dr. Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui Visits FutureNow Technologies.
22 Jan 2019
Federal IT Minister of Pakistan, Dr. Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, along with his team, visited FutureNow Technologies head office on January 22, 2019. The delegation included Director/Deputy Secretary Mr. Aftab Rashid, Advisor to Minister IT & Telecom Dr. Shahab Imam, DG (IC) Mr. Zeeshan Ali Bokhari and Personal Sectary to Minister Mr. Faraz Shakil. The aim of the trip was to visit the FutureNow facilities, explore the role of IT companies in bringing business to Pakistan and to discuss what support the government can provide in order to increase export income and generate employment.
The guests were received by Mr. Umar Farooq (Managing Director) and the FutureNow management team. The delegation was briefed about the Company and its business, followed by a general discussion on what role each party can play to help Pakistan grow in the technology sector. FutureNow shared its vision, history and aspirations to contribute towards the country’s economy, while also presenting suggestions on what the government can do to help the local IT sector flourish.
The technology sector in Pakistan can grow significantly if the right technology strategy is adopted on a national level. Countries such as Singapore, India and China have tackled these areas with tangible steps and are reaping the benefits of their actions. Pakistan needs to take similar steps as these nations who have all invested significantly in providing subsidized electricity, bandwidth, and economical land for local companies. FutureNow and many other technology companies operating in Pakistan prove that the country has the capacity and the talent to compete at an international level. Government’s support in helping local Companies gain easy and affordable access to world-class technical trainings will also help them take the local market to the next level.
FutureNow explained various avenues in which the government could take concrete steps in order to improve the national export situation. Qualitatively Pakistan is providing the same level of service as neighboring India. Whereas Pakistan’s IT exports stand at only 1 Billion USD, India’s IT exports total almost 99 Billion USD. If we measure possible parity in terms of population numbers alone, Pakistan’s IT export numbers should be in the range of 14 to 15 Billion USD. This short fall shows the lost ground that Pakistan needs to take back through better governance and through serious backing of the IT sector as a whole.
The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoITT) is the national focal Ministry and enabling arm of the Government of Pakistan for planning, coordinating and directing efforts to initiate and launch Information Technology and Telecommunications programs and projects aimed at economic development of the country. Their mandate includes development and improvement of IT, promotion of technology applications, human resource and infrastructure development and administration of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Ordinance 2007, among others.
FutureNow is a provider of cutting edge technology solutions and services in the US, Canada, Europe and the GCC. Their success comes from the realization that they as an organization can only succeed if their clients are successful. FutureNow Technologies strives to be at the forefront of innovation. Their objective is to improve, strengthen, maximize and implement their corporate values for the betterment of their employees and their clients.