ISLAMABAD: Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umer on Tuesday said that revenue generation and documentation of economy has been a major challenge for the country and initiatives have been taken to use the technology to achieve this target.

“The government is striving to ensure efficient delivery of services to the people by using the latest technology,” Asad Umar said while addressing a conference titled Sustainable Development in a Digital Society organized by Sustainable Development Policy Institute in Islamabad.

Also Read: Pakistan unveils payment systems strategy to shift to cashless economy

He pointed out that efforts had also been made to bridge the digital divide between the urban centers and the remote areas. In this regard, the Universal Service Fund had played an important role in development of telecommunication services in unserved and underserved areas of the country, he added.

Asad Umar said that promotion of digital economy was of extreme importance for Pakistan to move forward on the path of progress and development.

Former Chairman Board of Investment Haroon Sharif said Pakistan should promote cooperation with China in the realm of technology.

In his remarks, Executive Director of Sustainable Development Policy Institute Abid Qaiyum Sulheri stressed that Pakistan should be prepared to adopt the fourth industrial revolution, which offered both challenges and opportunities to Pakistan.

Delegates from 18 countries attended the conference.

In collaboration with the World Bank, the State Bank of Pakistan on Nov 7 had introduced a strategy for turning the payment method from cash to an almost cashless system.

For this purpose, the central bank had announced to launch a new mobile application for the National Payment Systems Strategy (NPSS) and install one million digital access points across the country in next three years.

 “Migration to efficient electronic payments stimulates consumption and trade, bringing benefits to the whole economy. By migrating to electronic means, the strategy intends to boost Pakistan’s GDP by 7%, creating four million jobs, resulting in $263 billion in new deposits, representing a potential market of $36 billion, all by 2025,” the SBP’s The National Payment Systems Strategy (NPSS) report had said.