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Pakistan plays active role in Ecommerce debate

By Tariq Butt
May 05, 2017

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has led the Ecommerce Debate at United Nations in Geneva. Commerce Minister Khurram Dastagir and Minister for Information Technology Anusha Rehman lead the debate on Digital trade during the five days Ecommerce Week in Geneva, organized by UN Conference for Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

The two ministers and members of Pakistan delegation were keynote speakers in approximately ten events during the Ecommerce week, officials privy to the function told The News.

More than 1000 delegates representing over 100 countries attended the Ecommerce Week. High-level representatives from Alibaba, eBay, Etsy, FedEx, Jumia, Huawei, Kapruka, PayPal, Ringier, TCS Holdings, Vodafone, and other ecommerce businesses spoke at the conference and engaged with government representatives and civil society.

The highlight of the conference was ministerial meeting jointly organized by Pakistan and Costa Rica on behalf of Friends of Ecommerce for Development. The ministers from Argentina, Nigeria, Costa Rica, Thailand, Congo, Cambodia, Bhutan, and Heads of World Trade Organization (WTO) and UN Conference on Trade & Development (UNCTAD) participated in the ministerial meeting along with senior officials from Kenya, Columbia, Mexico, Chile, Uruguay and Sri Lanka.

Friends of Ecommerce for Development is a group of ten likeminded countries at WTO led by Pakistan and coordinated by Pakistan’s Ambassador to WTO Dr Syed Tauqir Shah. Kenya, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Costa Rica, Colombia, Uruguay, Mexico, Chile and Argentina are members of the Friends of Ecommerce for Development coalition.

The speakers appreciated the thought leadership being provided by Pakistan at the UN and WTO on issue of ecommerce and interests of developing countries.

“We have missed the plastic phase of ecommerce revolution; we cannot afford to miss the mobile digital phase of ecommerce”, Khurram Dastagir said. “Promoting fair competition between online and offline services is critical for developing countries. The gains from the digital revolution have not been shared widely. Digital technologies can be transformational by promoting inclusion, efficiency, and innovation, but if digital economy is not accessible, affordable and open, it will result in inequality, control and concentration.”

While articulating interest and concerns of Pakistan and other developing countries, he said that there are huge challenges facing developing and transition economies in reaping the gains from ecommerce. These include poor infrastructure, inadequate logistics, low adoption rates of information and communications technology, outdated legal and regulatory frameworks, and lack of payment solutions and financing, and huge national deficit in digital skills needed for E-economy. The UNCTAD index clearly shows that the capacity and ability to engage successfully in e-Commerce varies significantly among countries.

While highlighting the national scene on ecommerce development, the commerce minister said Pakistan is acutely aware of the high growth of ecommerce, and its potential to address development deficit.

During last three years, after auction of 3G/4G spectrum, the consumers using Broad band on mobile, have increased from 3 to 40 million, he said adding that this is 188% growth rate. “We are adding a million BBM connections every month.

The Global Findex report shows Pakistan as the leader in mobile banking transactions in
 South Asia, having 133 million mobile phone subscribers and 11% of them use mobile phones to carry out financial transactions. Ecommerce in Pakistan is expected to reach $1 billion by 2020. Our legislature is working hard to update the rules and regulations governing digital trade.”

The commerce minister represented ten country Friends of Ecommerce for Development at the launch of Etrade for All Online Platform by UNCTAD. He was key note speaker at seminar organized by World Economic Forum on theme of Private Public Partnership for Ecommerce. Anusha Rehman was lead speaker in sessions on Ecommerce Preparedness for LDCs, Cybercrime and Implications for Ecommerce and China Experience in Ecommerce.

The Pakistan delegation met Jack Ma of Alibaba, Secretary General of UNCTAD, Director General of WTO and Executive Director of Center for WTO Law. Global experts, technology entrepreneurs, country delegates and civil society organizations appreciated constructive and proactive policy of Pakistan on ecommerce.

While addressing the High Level Panel Minister, Khurram Dastagir focused on the linkage between Globalization and Ecommerce. “Globalization brought about by the Internet has opened many doors for emerging and developing economies, ecommerce has the potential to act as bulwark against negative effects of globalization in developing countries. But for that we have to fulfill the promise of making ecommerce a truly global and inclusive experience.”