
Egypt, govt eye tech partnership
Listen to article
Ambassador of Egypt to Pakistan, Dr Ihab Mohamed Abdelhamid Hassan, called on the Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication, Shaza Fatima Khawaja, in Islamabad. According to a statement, the meeting focused on enhancing bilateral cooperation in the digital domain.
Both sides discussed the possibility of holding joint workshops in cybersecurity and maritime cable systems. The ambassador expressed keen interest in cooperation on 5G, fintech, training programs, and scholarships.
The ITT minister highlighted the strong similarities between Pakistan and Egypt, which pave the way for meaningful collaboration across various sectors.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Business Recorder
22 minutes ago
- Business Recorder
Turkey's Pasifik Eurasia, China Railway unit sign rail transport deal
ISTANBUL: Pasifik Eurasia Lojistik said it has signed a railway transport agreement with a subsidiary of China Railway to launch cargo train services along a corridor from China passing through Turkey into Europe, bypassing Russia. Ten train services will be operated initially, with the goal of reaching 1,000 services per year. The partnership with the state-owned company overseeing railway logistics across China is expected to accelerate freight volumes along what is known as the Middle Corridor. The Middle Corridor is a China-Europe cargo route promoted by the West as an alternative to shipments via Russia, and it includes Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey. The agreement will ensure time and cost advantages when compared to the North Corridor via Russia, parent company Pasifik Holding Chairman Fatih Erdogan said. 'The cost of transporting through the Middle Corridor provides a 500-1000 dollar advantage per container compared to the Northern Corridor following the Ukraine-Russia war,' Erdogan said. The agreement will also accelerate the current 25-35 days average duration from China to Europe, compared with 40-53 days through the other route.


Business Recorder
27 minutes ago
- Business Recorder
PDA seeks cut in packaged milk tax to 5pc
LAHORE: The Pakistan Dairy Association (PDA) on Wednesday urged the government to immediately reduce the 18 percent sales tax on packaged milk to just 5 percent to provide relief to consumers, stimulate industrial activity, and generate higher revenue for the national exchequer. Under the Finance Act 2024, both liquid and powdered milk have shifted from zero-rated to an 18 percent sales tax. According to PDA representatives, this rate is not only excessive but also unprecedented globally. 'No developed or developing country imposes such a high tax on a basic nutritional commodity like milk,' they said. 'Since the imposition of this tax, the price of a one-liter pack of milk has surged from Rs 280 to Rs 350. If the industry's suggestion to reduce the tax is accepted, prices could potentially drop by Rs 50 per liter,' said PDA Chairman Usman Zaheer, along with CEO Dr. Shahzad Iqbal, Dr Nasir, Mian Mitha, and Noor Aftab, while addressing a press conference. Zaheer highlighted that the formal dairy industry has already reduced its milk procurement from farmers by 20 percent due to the increased tax burden. This has forced nearly 35 percent of farmers to unregulated loose milk trade from formal market. Consequently, around 20 percent of milk collection centers have shut down, disproportionately impacting small-scale dairy farmers. In addition, farmers have lost quality and safety-based incentives worth Rs 10 to 15 per liter, while prices of loose milk have climbed by Rs 30 to 40 per liter - profits that do not benefit the producers. This policy has also discouraged farm productivity and long-term investment in the dairy sector. Citing a Nielsen study, Zaheer pointed out that two-thirds of Pakistani consumers earn less than Rs 50,000 per month. With prices now higher, many low- and middle-income families are forced to turn to loose milk which lacks quality control and safety assurances. 'Milk - one of the most nutritious staples in the average food basket - has now become unaffordable for many,' he said. PDA CEO Shahzad Iqbal added that the formal dairy industry is now facing serious setbacks and has shelved an annual investment of Rs 1.3 billion meant for farm development and support. With processing plants now operating at less than 50 percent capacity and profits under severe pressure, many companies have halted investment in branding and innovation over the past two quarters. Around 20 percent of employees in the formal dairy sector have already been laid off, and an annual Rs 400 million investment in consumer conversion programs has also been abandoned. This, Iqbal warned, is putting Pakistan's $30 billion dairy export potential at serious risk. He further said the informal sector - gawalas and shopkeepers - is now generating nearly Rs 1,319 billion annually due to the gap created by the tax on formal milk. 'The widening price gap and lack of enforcement are driving consumers toward unsafe loose milk, which not only endangers public health but also strengthens the undocumented economy,' he cautioned. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025


Business Recorder
27 minutes ago
- Business Recorder
First carbon capture cement facility opens in Norway
BREVIK (Norway): Norway on Wednesday inaugurated the first large-scale facility for capturing carbon dioxide emissions at a cement plant, making it possible to manufacture the world's first 'carbon free' cement. The Heidelberg Materials plant in Brevik in southeastern Norway can now capture up to 400,000 tonnes of CO2 per year — 50 percent of its emissions — thanks to amino-based solvents. Through a 'book and claim' system, the company, one of the world's biggest cement producers and more than a century old, will be able to virtually redistribute the gain to its other cement plants and thereby offer clients partially or fully decarbonised products. 'This cement product will be near zero (emissions),' Heidelberg Materials chief executive Dominik von Achten told AFP. Once transformed into the final product concrete, which absorbs small quantities of CO2 throughout its life cycle, 'it will be net zero', he said. The volume of decarbonised cement sold will depend on the amount of CO2 actually captured at Brevik, and the type of cement sold, as the amount of carbon varies from product to product. But according to Heidelberg Materials, it will be around several hundreds of thousands of tonnes — a fraction of the annual global cement production of 4.2 billion tonnes. Cement production alone accounts for seven percent of global greenhouse gases, according to the Global Cement and Concrete Association. The partial decarbonisation of the cement plant in Brevik is part of the Longship project, backed by the Norwegian state, aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Launched on Tuesday, Longship will capture carbon dioxide emitted from industrial sites — the Heidelberg cement plant and, in a later stage, an incineration plant — and transport it by ship to a terminal on Norway's west coast, where it will be injected and stored beneath the seabed. The Norwegian state will cover 22 billion kroner ($2.2 billion) of the total estimated cost of 34 billion kroner for the installation and operation over the first 10 years. It is 'an incredibly important technology to (enable us to) respect our (climate) commitments under the Paris Agreement', Norwegian Energy Minister Terje Aasland told AFP. 'If we want to meet the climate challenges we are facing, we have to capture CO2, especially in the industries where there are no alternatives,' he added, citing cement production as an example. Carbon capture and storage is backed by the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as a way of reducing the carbon footprint of industries hard to decarbonise, such as cement and steel. But the technology remains complex and expensive. Without financial assistance, it is currently more profitable for industries to purchase 'pollution permits' on the European carbon market than to pay for capturing, transporting and storing their CO2.