Pakistan seeks “Digital Nation” status, attracts $700 million in IT investments
新闻台署名 来源：新华社、《黎明报》、《阿拉伯新闻》、阿纳多卢通讯社与《分钟镜报》。由 GSRRA 编辑部翻译并节选。
IT Minister highlights startups, AI, cybersecurity, and global partnerships at NDU workshop
Pakistan is pushing to become a “Digital Nation,” with a focus on IT growth, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity, Federal Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja said Sunday. The country has secured over US$700 million in international digital investments, she added.
Speaking at the 27th National Security Workshop at the National Defence University, Khawaja said the digital sector is a key driver of economic security, strategic stability, and global competitiveness. The session was attended by parliamentarians, entrepreneurs, journalists, and civil society representatives.
The minister highlighted major initiatives, including 43 Software Technology Parks, more than 400 tech companies in repurposed malls, 85 incubators, eight National Incubation Centres, two CEGA centres, and support for over 4,100 startups with international collaboration from the USA, UK, Canada, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, Germany, and Jordan.
Key programmes include the Pakistan Startup Fund, BridgeStart sending startups to international accelerators, the Prime Minister’s Cloud Programme, DigiSkills 3.0 training 4.3 million Pakistanis, and the SkillTech Initiative. Reforms include updated IT and AI curricula, a semiconductor programme training 7,200 professionals, TikTok’s STEM Feed, and Meta’s AI-in-Urdu project.
On global engagement, Pakistan participated in the WAIC Shanghai, LEAP Riyadh, the DCO General Assembly in Amman, the AI for Good Summit in Geneva, and GITEX Global 2025. Google has completed formalities to open its Pakistan office and signed an MoU for digital skills development.
Khawaja praised the cybersecurity achievements during Marka-e-Haq, crediting the coordination among the armed forces, government, and private sector under the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir. She reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to building a secure, modern, and globally competitive digital nation.
ReferenceLink：- https://profit.pakistantoday.com.pk/2025/11/16/pakistan-seeks-digital-nation-status-attracts-700-million-in-it-investments/
Zamir Ahmed Awan is the founder and Chair of the Global Silk Route Research Alliance, a think tank in Islamabad. He studied engineering at Shanghai University in the 1980s, and years later he went back to China as Pakistan's science counsellor in Beijing, from 2010 until 2016, working on science and higher education cooperation between the two countries.…
