Islamabad, Nov 10 /DNA/ – Fifteen Pakistani parliamentarians, officials, and civil society members discussed international best practices for information and communication technology (ICT) governance during a recent visit to Washington, D.C., organized and funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP).

Pakistani participants met with U.S. counterparts and discussed the opportunities and challenges of regulating the ICT sector.  The delegation met with members of the Senate and House of Representatives, as well as U.S. Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina M. Khan, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Pakistan Affairs Lesslie Viguerie, and Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for South and Central Asia Zeba Reyazuddin.  The delegation also engaged in a private sector roundtable that included representatives from Visa, Mastercard, Amazon, Facebook, and Google.  

The delegation, led by Senator Faisal Javed, praised the program and offered to host U.S. legislators in Pakistan, highlighting that Pakistan is in the process of drafting legislation to address key ICT sector regulatory issues.   

Since 2014, CLDP has provided critical training and programming to support the development of Pakistan’s ICT sector, facilitate trade, provide continuing legal education, support technology transfers, and to increase entrepreneurship. This meeting marked CLDP’s first in-person event since the COVID-19 pandemic began, underscoring the importance the U.S. government attaches to its cooperation with Pakistan.