Pakistan wants to set up a ‘semiconductors zone’ with Chinese help, says Fawad

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain has said that Islamabad has proposed a plan to build a semiconductors zone with the help of China, giving Pakistan self-sufficiency in modern gadgets and opening new avenues for development.

In an interview with China Economicnet, he said that during the visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan to China, they discussed the shifting of the semiconductors industry to Pakistan as the role of this technology was very important not only for Pakistan but for China as well.

“We want Chinese tech companies to come to Pakistan and make Pakistan a hub of semiconductors manufacturing,” he added.

Fawad also served as a Federal Minister for Science and Technology and during that tenure, he signed many MoUs and agreements on semiconductors technology and also collaborated with China to train Pakistanis in semiconductors skills.

“We would also like to start semiconductor designing in Pakistan. I’m very happy to tell you that Chinese investors are very keen to join hands with Pakistan and technology zone will be converted into semiconductor zone,” he mentioned.

Chaudhry Fawad further said that there was a huge area in science and technology where both countries can cooperate, adding that mobile phones were now being assembled in Pakistan but they would like to take a step further and start full-fledged manufacturing of mobile phones in Pakistan.

He said that bilateral cooperation increased in the area of health-related types of equipment, which was also very important, and in the first few months of COVID-19, they were importing everything related to this area but now Pakistan is a major exporter of health material.

“This is a landmark that we have achieved within a short period and now the health sector is open to collaboration. Pakistan has skilled labour, cheaper labour, and a huge market. We hope that Chinese tech companies would join hands with Pakistan to join our technology zone, and we will be able to come up with bigger cooperation in these sectors,” he mentioned.

He hoped that many Chinese technology companies would come to Pakistan after the visit of the Prime Minister of Pakistan because semi-conductor was a core element of every technology, which would help bring value addition to the local manufacturing products.

It is worth mentioning that during his visit, Prime Minister Imran Khan held a series of meetings with leaders of China’s leading technology companies, and both sides agreed to enhance cooperation in software development, information and communication technology, medical diagnostic, and other related sectors.