The interim IT minister Umar Saif, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have signed an agreement to cooperate in the field of information technology (IT).
Pakistan Saudi sign deal in IT sector: According to the minister, the agreement would make it easier for Pakistani businesses to operate in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), give Saudi businesses access to trained IT staff, encourage joint ventures with Saudi businesses, and set up a startup exchange programme with leading Saudi tech incubators.
Saif stated in a post on X, formerly Twitter, “Strategically, we will work on establishing close cooperation to setup chip manufacturing industry in Pakistan and work on electric vehicles, lithium ion batteries, agriculture technology, and mining technologies.”
In Riyadh, Abdullah A. Al-Sawahah, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology, and Caretaker Federal Minister of IT and Telecom Umar Saif signed the Memorandum of Understanding.
The deal includes a mutual commitment to the digital economy, according to state-run PTV.
The official broadcaster reported that “both sides also agreed to promote the private sector aside from the government level.”
The update on the MoU signing on X was also published by the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Communications and IT.
According to the statement, the agreement was struck to strengthen the development of the digital economy and deepen relations between the two nations.
According to the Saudi ministry, both nations will collaborate to advance digital innovation, support entrepreneurs, and build up the digital infrastructure.
A dedicated desk for Pakistani IT businesses
The Saudi Minister of Investment (MISA), H.E. Khalid al-Falih, instructed MISA to set up a separate desk for Pakistani IT businesses to register in KSA and to award licences (CR) to operate in the kingdom, according to the temporary IT minister, who reported the meeting.
Further, This procedure would often take months and cost over 100,000 Riyals in consultancy fees. This was the top request from our IT companies, the minister stated in a different X post.
In order to provide business opportunities in the public and private sectors of KSA, this desk would also collaborate with Pakistan’s IT industry, Saif continued.
The minister claimed that in order to discuss the prospect of Saudi Arabian Investment Fund (PIF) participation in the VC fund-of-funds for Pakistani entrepreneurs, he also scheduled meetings with them.