Islamabad: During a recent roundtable discussion at the Ministry of IT, Minister of State for IT and Telecommunication, Shaza Fatima Khawaja, highlighted that data regulation and cybersecurity are the government’s top priorities. She underscored the commitment to elevating IT sector growth, with an ambitious target of increasing IT exports to $25 billion.
According to Press Information Department, the event titled “Roundtable on Open Data Flows and Pakistan’s Digital Economy” saw participation from various notable figures, including Jeff Paine, Managing Director of the Asia Internet Coalition, as well as representatives from Google and Meta. Tania Aidrus, Convener of the Digital Pakistan Committee, and Aisha Humera Chaudhry, Secretary of IT, were also present. The minister emphasized the government’s directive to support and facilitate the private sector fully towards achieving a digital economy. The discussions also touched upon data localization, hosting, and sensitivity, with participants providing several recommendations.
The roundtable, which included authorities from Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA), Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), State Bank of Pakistan, and the National IT Board, as well as senior officers from the Ministry of IT, was a strategic meeting aimed at transforming Pakistan into a digital economy through enhanced focus on critical areas like data regulation and cybersecurity.