LAHORE: Dream of economic stability cannot come true without equipping the business community with IT based knowledge. The LCCI three-day Information Technology Exhibition will not only help promote Information Technology activities in the province but will also encourage IT exports.
He was addressing at the opening ceremony of the LCCI three-day Information Technology Exhibition here at Alhamra Art Gallery. The function was attended by the LCCI President Sheikh Muhammad Arshad, Senior Vice President Almas Hyder, Vice President Nasir Saeed, Convener LCCI Standing Committee on Information Technology Shahzad Ahmed Executive Committee Members Abdul Razaq, Amjad Ali Jawa, Sheikh Muhammad Ibrahim, Waqar Ahmed Mian, Adnan Khalid Butt, Sheikh Muhammad Fayyaz Ahmed, former LCCI chiefs, leading businessmen, economists, IT experts and people belonging to various walks of life. The exhibition was organized in collaboration with Zong Pakistan and Punjab government.
Provincial Minister said that Punjab government is well aware of the fact and taking innovative measures to promote information technology in the province. While lauding the LCCI efforts, he said that this initiative would be proved a milestone in promotion of information technology amongst the business community.
The LCCI office-bearers said that the LCCI three-day Information Technology Exhibition will underline the importance of information technology in business success.
They said that the LCCI Exhibition on Information Technology is a giant towards promotion of IT based economy. He said that in today’s world, IT knowledge is of prime importance as not only it unlocks the doors of progress and prosperity but also provides a chance to get access to global opportunities.
“Knowledge race in the 21st century and rapid globalization, the quality of information technology-based education has to be enhanced to bring it at par with international standards for bringing the country out of economic mire. And to achieve the goal, the government would have to spend more on education as the existing budget is too meager to produce desired and required results”, the LCCI office-bearers added.
The LCCI office-bearers urged the government to provide maximum facilities to the potential exhibitors as fairs and exhibitions play an important role for the economic stability of a country.
They said that fairs and exhibitions not only help attract foreign buyers and bring in much needed foreign exchange but also highlights the soft image of Pakistan.
Citing the examples of Germany and China, they said that their economies are thriving today only because of they’re on exhibitions and exchange of delegations. They said that Germany is the leader as far as sector-specific exhibitions are concerned as over 1000 exhibitions are held in Germany annually. Now the private sector in Pakistan was also focusing on holding exhibitions and it was a good sign and a good omen for the economic well being of the country.
They said that the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry has always stressed the need for exchange of business delegations and holding of exhibitions for being proven tools to promote economic activities. They said that exhibitions are one of the most effective marketing tools for increasing sales figures and expanding markets. The exhibitions help with finding new clients and partners besides increasing sales figures through expansion in geographical range of their sales.
Taking part in exhibitions is not just an opportunity to improve the competitiveness of products, it can also make the manufacturer more competitive – by optimizing business processes, expanding service range, increasing brand awareness and customer loyalty, they added.
They said that the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry will continue to organize such events in the larger interest of the business community.
After the function, Provincial Minister and the LCCI office-bearers took a round of the exhibition hall and talked to the exhibitors and experts.