BEIJING (Dunya News) - Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal has arrived in China on a two-day official visit to participate in the Digital Economy Forum.
During his visit, Iqbal attended and addressed the ministerial-level meeting on digital economy cooperation of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
He said the digital economy was an important driver for accelerating production, trade, governance and human development.
Iqbal said “E-Pakistan” was one of the five key pillars of the Uraan Pakistan initiative, while digital transformation remained at the heart of Pakistan’s development agenda.
He highlighted the Digital Nation Pakistan Act, the Pakistan Digital Authority and the National Artificial Intelligence Policy as key foundations for the country’s digital transformation.
Also Read: Pakistan ready for digital economy, says Bilal Bin Saqib
The minister said Pakistan and China had significant opportunities to expand cooperation in artificial intelligence, cloud computing, cybersecurity, research and skills development.
He proposed establishing an SCO Digital Connectivity and Compute Corridor and called for greater investment in cross-border fibre links, data centres and satellite connectivity.
Iqbal stressed that trust, privacy, cybersecurity, transparency and national sovereignty should remain central to digital cooperation.
He said Pakistan was committed to turning SCO digital partnerships into practical outcomes through connectivity, innovation and shared prosperity.
He also called for digital infrastructure benefits to reach youth, women, universities and small businesses, rather than being limited to governments and major corporations.