Dr. Asad Majeed Khan, the Ambassador of Pakistan to the U.S. participated in a virtual session of Global Pakistan Tech Summit titled “Enabling Technology Transfer from Silicon Valley to Pakistan, Dr. Naveed Iftikhar, Adjunct Faculty, LUMS moderated the discussion.

In his remarks, Ambassador Khan underlined that enhancing Pakistan-U.S. trade, investment and economic relations has remained a key theme during the three summit level meetings between President Trump and Prime Minister Imran Khan, held during the last year. While the U.S. remains one of Pakistan’s largest export destinations, there remains considerable potential for growth in the information technology sector, he added.

The Ambassador also highlighted the investment incentives in the tech sector and the various initiatives taken by the Government of Pakistan to facilitate IT investors. He stressed the need to overcome challenges associated with the stereotypical perception of Pakistan, which is a dynamic and vibrant nation and has remained a long term and committed partner of the U.S.

The Acting Charge d’ Affaires of U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, John Hoover also participated in the discussion. He acknowledged that there is a deep pool of talent and entrepreneurial culture in Pakistan and both U.S. and Pakistan need to work together to provide an enabling environment for small businesses and startups. He added that the U.S. is working with both public and private partners on a wide range of programs to support and connect Pakistani entrepreneurs to the tech ecosystem in the U.S.

Najeeb Ghauri, Chairman NETSOL technologies and Ms. Shehab Niazi, Editor-in-Chief Startup Guide also participated in the discussion and shared their views on promoting entrepreneurship and startups in Pakistan as well as exploring ways to address the challenges associated with this sector.

Washington D.C., 24th June, 2020.