Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced on Friday that Pakistan’s Information Technology exports are set to increase due to Huawei’s annual professional training for 300,000 Pakistani students. During a meeting with a four-member delegation led by Ethan Sun, CEO of Huawei Pakistan, the prime minister highlighted the importance of collaboration with Huawei in providing advanced IT training, particularly for young people.
The prime minister emphasized the government’s commitment to a sustainable partnership with Huawei to strengthen Pakistan’s digital economy. Special focus will be given to including women and the youth of Balochistan in the training program. He stated that fostering the digital economy requires a robust foundation of talented professionals within the country.
Recalling his recent visit to Huawei’s headquarters in China, the prime minister noted its positive outcomes. He stressed the need to digitize government institutions to establish a modern, automated, and efficient governance system.
The delegation updated the prime minister on the progress of ongoing projects under the Pakistan-Huawei cooperation agreement for the Digital Pakistan Program. They informed him about the development of a new Massive Open Online Courses system for IT training, which will be launched with the support of provincial governments.
The delegation also proposed the creation of a national data center aligned with Pakistan’s national cloud strategy, which will enhance cloud services and reduce costs. Huawei expressed interest in collaborating with the Pakistani government to transform Islamabad into a smart city, with digital platforms facilitating various services like traffic management, healthcare, education, and parking.
Minister of State for IT Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Prime Minister’s Coordinator Rana Ihsaan Afzal, and other senior officials also attended the meeting.
