ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday announced that Pakistani students will be sent to Saudi Arabia for training in artificial intelligence (AI) and information technology (IT).
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the Prime Minister’s Youth Laptop Scheme 2025 in Islamabad, the Prime Minister said that talented students are the pride of the nation, and their success is the result of their parents’ and teachers’ hard work and prayers. He emphasized that all possible resources will be utilized for the technical training of students, and that 100,000 laptops are being distributed purely on merit.
Shehbaz Sharif explained that the programme was delayed because the laptop bags carried promotional logos, which he ordered to be removed. He said that Rs. 40 to 50 billion had been spent on the laptops.
The Prime Minister noted that Saudi Arabia is investing billions of dollars in the field of AI and IT and has offered to provide free training to Pakistani students. He praised Saudi Arabia as a “great and sincere friend” that has always supported millions of Pakistanis.
He added that the government would make every effort to send thousands of students to Saudi Arabia for modern training, and vowed that as long as he holds office, he will devote all available resources to the education, training, and employment of the nation’s youth.
Addressing the students, Shehbaz Sharif said, “You must work hard to make Pakistan the great nation envisioned by Allama Iqbal and Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, freeing it from the burden of debt.”
At the conclusion of the ceremony, the Prime Minister formally launched the Prime Minister’s Youth Laptop Scheme 2025 and distributed laptops among students. Federal ministers Attaullah Tarar and Talal Chaudhry, Chairman of the Prime Minister’s Youth Program Rana Mashhood, as well as a large number of students and parents, were present at the event.