MTI Consulting has been retained to independently advice Pakistan’s Ministry of Commerce on Pakistan’s accession to WTO’s Information Technology Agreement (ITA). The mandate to MTI  calls for an independent evaluation of the opportunities and threats of the ITA to Pakistan, with special attention to its contribution toward the nation’s ICT industry’s long term objective of becoming a major ICT player among global value chains.

The project hasbeen initiated under the Pakistan—Regional Economic Integration Activity (PREIA). PREIA is a USAID funded activity/project which intends to further the development of the country’s trade sector by improving Pakistan’s competitiveness in international markets.  PREIA is implemented by the private development company, DAI (under one of their integrated solutions, i.e. ‘Economic Growth’.

The ITA Information Technology Agreement, initially implemented in 1996 is most significant tariff liberalization arrangement negotiated in the WTO after its establishment in 1995. It has 82 signatories. ITA’s IT product list covers 97 per cent of world trade in IT products. 2015 saw the expansion of the ITA. The agreement was expanded to include an additional list of 201 products.

MTI Consulting is an internationally-networked boutique management consultancy – enabling clients to ‘Analyze > Strategize > Realize’ effective outcomes. The practices cover Strategy, Operations and Corporate Finance. In the last 24 years, MTI has  carried out 670 projects across 49 countries – covering both public and private sector.

Photo: Hilmy Cader, CEO of MTI Consulting, Naush Beg, MTI’s Pakistan Consultant & Svanthi Jayawickrema, MTI’s South Asia Projects Coordinator