A Google delegation led by Mr. Tim Paolini, the Google APAC head for Cloud, called on the office of the Special Technology Zones Authority (STZA) in Islamabad along with leaders of Tech Valley Pakistan, according to the press release issued by the STZA.
The delegates held a working meeting with STZA Chairman MrAmer Hashmi and Chief Commercial Officer Mr. Javaid Iqbal, on matters of mutual interest between Google and STZA.
The group was briefed about Special Technology Zones being developed by STZA across Pakistan and the special economic and monetary incentives.
STZA also showed interest in assisting Google to expand its existing footprint in Pakistan by cooperating on strategic technology interventions for tech zones.
Chairman STZA expressed his desire to work closely with Google to enable Pakistani startups, tech SMEs as well as large-scale tech enterprises, looking to operate inside the STZs as Zone Enterprises, said the statement.
Prospects for Google in Pakistan
Some suggested interventions as per the press release include;
- The establishment of a state of the art data centers across Pakistan
- Enhanced global cloud services to harness the local demand and boost the economic value of various industrial sectors
- Adding more fintech power to the financial ecosystem by introducing Google Pay
- Advanced cashless payment systems for the enablement and growth of e-commerce activity
- Support for Pakistan’s burgeoning freelancer market
- Bringing Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM’s) to Pakistan to begin manufacturing Google chrome books and other products in the Special Tech Zones.
Furthermore, Google could explore STZs in Pakistan for Shared Services Centres and Research, building dedicated Software Engineering Centres, Innovation and Development Centers to utilize top-class talent at a much lower cost as compared to contemporary engineering destinations.
This talent is to be sourced from top Pakistani universities and national training centers in the areas of AI, Cloud Computing, Cyber Security, Robotics, and allied fields, told the press release.