ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif hosted a reception for the Google team, where Pakistan and Google signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to promote national digital transformation and innovation.
The MoU was signed on behalf of Pakistan by Secretary Zarqa Hashim Khan and Google’s Head of Public Policy for Southeast Asia and South Asia, David Wheeler.
The agreement aims to expand cooperation in digital skills, IT exports and innovation in Pakistan. The two sides will work to expand Google’s Career Certificates programme to promote digital skills, with Google setting a target of providing 150,000 Google Career Certificates in Pakistan in 2026.
The sides also agreed to increase Pakistani students’ access to Google’s advanced artificial intelligence tools. Pakistani students will receive free access to advanced AI tools, including Google AI Plus and Gemini, for one year.
Pakistan and Google also agreed to cooperate on establishing an AI Centre of Excellence in Islamabad. The centre will help train Pakistani youth and human resources according to the requirements of the global market.
Cooperation will also focus on enhancing the global competitiveness of mobile applications and the gaming industry, promoting digital payment systems and expanding the scope of digital trade.
The two sides will cooperate on the use of artificial intelligence to improve the delivery of government services and make government affairs more effective. AI-based data analytics will also be used in the Federal Board of Revenue’s digitisation project.
In the agriculture sector, cooperation will focus on using artificial intelligence for crop monitoring, forecasting and sustainable agricultural practices.
Pakistan and Google will also cooperate on using digital platforms to help small and medium-sized Pakistani businesses gain access to global markets. A task force comprising representatives from the government, Google and relevant stakeholders will be established to prepare a roadmap for Pakistan’s IT exports and competitiveness.
The task force will identify obstacles to IT exports and opportunities for growth. Pakistan and Google also agreed to expand opportunities for young people in digital skills, startups and the technology sector through greater cooperation.
The development marks an important step towards Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s vision of increasing Pakistan’s IT exports and digital economy to $30 billion by 2030. The government said cooperation between Pakistan and Google would lay the foundation for a new era of digital transformation and innovation in the country.