ISLAMABAD: Foreign delegates from 17 countries including Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and China will attend Pakistan’s largest IT festival next week, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported on Sunday.
The ITCN Asia, organized by Ecommerce Gateway Pakistan (Pvt.) Ltd., is a three-day event bringing together Pakistan’s entire tech and startup ecosystem. The 25th edition of the annual event will be held in Pakistan’s commercial hub and southern port city of Karachi from Aug. 27-29 featuring investors and entrepreneurs from the IT industry.
“Seven hundred and fifty leading global and local companies are participating in the event while over 70,000 visitors, including 350 foreign delegates from 17 countries Saudi Arabia, China, Singapore, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Iran, Egypt, United Arab Emirates will also participate in the event,” Radio Pakistan said.
The event is expected to attract investment worth over 500 million investment, the state broadcaster said.
Pakistan is making desperate attempts to boost exports, particularly in the field of IT, and foreign investment to cut its reliance on foreign debts to support its $350 billion fragile economy.
In May, State Minister for IT and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima reportedly told a tech event that the government had set a target of increasing IT exports to $25 billion for which collaborative efforts were needed to build a digital future that was inclusive, sustainable and secure.
Pakistan has also established four new special technology zones that can house up to 50,000 professionals and have an annual export potential of $350 million, the country’s Special Technology Zones Authority (STZA) said this month.