The government and Google on Friday inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote national digital transformation and innovation in Pakistan. Ministry of Information Technology Secretary Zarar Hashim Khan and Google's Senior Director of Government Affairs and Public Policy for Southeast Asia, David Weller, signed the MoU at a ceremony held in Islamabad today. Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, US Chargé d'Affaires Natalie Baker, and members of the Federal Cabinet witnessed the signing ceremony.
The MoU aims to strengthen cooperation in Pakistan on digital skills, IT exports, and innovation. Under the MoU, Pakistan and Google have also agreed to expand the Google Career Certificates programme to promote digital skills, setting a target by Google for issuing 150,000 career certificates in the country during the current year. Pakistan and Google have further agreed to pave the way for Pakistani students to access advanced artificial intelligence tools, including Google AI Plus and Gemini, free of cost.
The two sides also agreed to cooperate on establishing an AI centre of excellence in Islamabad, adding that the centre would train Pakistani youth and human resources according to the requirements of the global market. Pakistan and Google also agreed to cooperate in enhancing the global competitiveness of Pakistan's mobile applications and gaming industry, promote the digital payments system, and expand the scope of digital commerce.
Under the MoU, AI-powered data analytics will be used in the Federal Board of Revenue's digitisation programme. The two sides also agreed to use AI in agriculture for crop monitoring, forecasting, and sustainable farming practices, while digital platforms would be leveraged to help small and medium-sized enterprises gain access to global markets.
Under the MoU, a task force comprising the government, Google, and relevant stakeholders would be established to prepare a roadmap for Pakistan's IT exports and competitiveness. This task force will identify barriers to IT exports and opportunities for growth. The two sides also agreed to expand the scope of opportunities for young people in digital skills, startups, and the technology sector through greater cooperation. This cooperation is a significant milestone towards the Prime Minister's vision of increasing Pakistan's IT exports and digital economy to 30 billion dollars by the year 2030.