LAHORE: Punjab`s IT Board Chairman and IT University Vice-Chancellor Dr Umar Saif says Pakistan has great potential to meet the contemporary development challenges by using information and communication technology (ICT).

He said this while addressing the concluding ceremony of a two-week International Development Design Summit (IDDS) held at Arfa Software Technology Park hereonThursday.

The summit was hosted by theInformation Technology University (ITU) and the Innovations for Poverty Alleviation Laboratory (IPAL) and organized by the International Development Innovation Network, which is led by D-Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and funded by the United States Agency for International Development`s Global Development Lab.

The participants presented prototype solutions to the challenges related to health, agriculture and disaster management.

Mr Saif appreciated the commitment of foreigner participants who travelled to Pakistan despite terrorism and lauded thework of participants who got acquainted closely with communities in and around Lahore during the summit to identify challenges that could be addressed using ICT.

He assured the participants that their expertise would be utilized to overcome the social problems in Pakistan.

USAID Economic Growth Project Specialist Kamran Niazi said the USAID was galvanizing entrepreneurs and innovators from multiple disciplines and walks of life to become part of the solution to end extreme poverty.

He said: `We have come to understand that the most sustainable solutions to devel-opment issues come from local communities themselves.

The event was also addressed by Daniel Mokrauer-Madden from USA, Koffi Dodji Honou from Togo, Catherine Rakam from Kenya, Julia Klammer from Austria and others.

Of the 30 participants, 12 were Pakistani while others hailed from Central, South and North America, Africa, the Middle East, Europe, Australia, and other Asian countries.

The summit focused on using technology and design principles to co-create solutions to community challenges for poverty in and around Lahore.