Technology advancement a must for economic growth, says CM Murad

KARACHI - Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that access to information and e-suite services, including healthcare, e-finance, e-agriculture, and e-education will enable the rural and remote communities of the country to compete better to support the economic development of the country.
This he said on Thursday while speaking at a contract signing ceremony between USF and PTCL for laying Optic Fiber Cable (OFC) in Dadu, Jamshoro, Badin, Hyderabad, Larkana and Kambar & Shahdadkot districts here at a local hotel.
The program organised by Ministry of IT & Telecommunication was attended by Federal Minister IT & Telecommunication Syed Aminul Haq, Chief Secretary Sohail Rajput, Additional Secretary IT Mohsin Mushtaq, President & Group CEO PTCL & Ufone Hatem Bamatra and consul general of different countries.
Syed Murad Ali Shah said that it was his pleasure to be among the distinguished guests at the ‘Contract Signing of Optic Fiber Cable Projects (OFC) to be laid in Dadu, Jamshoro, Badin, Hyderabad, Larkana, Kambar & Shahdadkot Districts.’
Sindh CM said that there was a time when technological advancements and economic conditions in some parts of our country were at a crucial stage, which hampered daily lives of millions of Pakistanis.
He added that just to overcome all these challenges, and in line with the vision of Digital Pakistan, the federal IT Ministry through Universal Service Fund (USF) has been running diverse projects which are playing a huge role in the socio-economic development of our people.
As digitalization has become a priority for businesses and communities, the ministry of IT through USF aims to connect all the citizens of Pakistan, the CM said and added under its Next Generation Optic Fiber (NG-OF) Network & Services program, the USF has contracted over 16,000 km of Optic Fiber Cable (OFC) to benefit 31.5 million Pakistanis.
Syed Murad Ali Shah said that by providing access to information and e-suite services, such as healthcare, e-finance, e-agriculture & e-education, Ministry of IT and Telecommunication was enabling the rural and remote communities of the country to not only compete better, but also to support the economic development to bring a positive impact on the national GDP while contributing to the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Earlier, Federal Minister for IT & T Syed Aminul Haq highlighted achievements of his ministry and vowed to increase the export of IT from $2.5 billion to $3 billion. On the occasion, the CEO of PTCL Hatem Bamatraf and the CEO of USF Harris Mahmood, signed the contract.

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