Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal has called for enhanced bilateral cooperation between Pakistan and Russia in the information technology sector, stressing the need for joint ventures, technology partnerships, greater market access and pilot projects to convert business engagements into concrete commercial opportunities.
Addressing the Pakistan-Russia IT Collaboration: Industry Engagement Framework, the minister said recent business-to-business meetings organised by the Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB), in collaboration with P@SHA, had highlighted the potential for stronger commercial ties between the two countries.
He noted that five Russian companies had held 16 meetings with 11 Pakistani firms during the engagement. The latest initiative, he said, should build on these discussions by creating clearer pathways for businesses to move towards commercial agreements and contracts.
Highlighting the role of technology in Pakistan’s economic development, Iqbal said the e-Pakistan initiative was among the five key pillars of the National Economic Transformation Plan, which aims to transform the country into a trillion-dollar economy by 2035.
He said Pakistan and Russia could expand cooperation in several areas, including industrial automation, enterprise software, digital supply chains for agriculture, secure digital trade systems, artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing and cybersecurity.
The minister emphasised that Pakistan needed to move beyond exporting IT services and focus on developing technology products and digital platforms for international markets.
Referring to the country’s human resource potential, Iqbal said Pakistan produced more than 75,000 graduates annually, while the National AI Policy had set a target of developing one million AI professionals by 2030.
He added that seven new AI centres would be established to connect research, skills development, startups and industry, helping strengthen Pakistan’s artificial intelligence ecosystem.
Iqbal also highlighted Russia’s longstanding expertise in science and engineering, particularly in enterprise software, cloud computing and cybersecurity. He said these capabilities complemented Pakistan’s engineering workforce and experience in delivering technology services to international markets, creating opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation.
