Speakers at a high-level side event organized by Missions of Pakistan & Tajikistan along with Pakistani Premiers’ Youth Programme highlighted Artificial Intelligence’s transformative potential, but stressed the critical need to ensure equitable and universal access to its benefits.
Speakers at Pak-sponsored event call for human-centric AI to bridge global divides, drive sustainable development
UNITED NATIONS, Jul 16 (APP): Speakers at a high-level side event organized by Missions of Pakistan & Tajikistan along with Pakistani Premiers’ Youth Programme highlighted Artificial Intelligence’s transformative potential, but stressed the critical need to ensure equitable and universal access to its benefits.
They observed that while AI offers significant opportunities for developing countries, it also brings considerable challenges. Without bridging critical gaps in digital infrastructure, financing, data capacity, and skilled human capital, these nations risk having existing inequalities further widened, it was pointed out.
The speakers also emphasized the need for policies that empower young people through equitable access to AI technologies, strengthened capacity-building and meaningful participation as partners in sustainable development.
“If access to technology, infrastructure, skills, finance and data remain concentrated in a few countries and communities, artificial intelligence may widen the very inequalities that sustainable development seeks to overcome,” Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan, Chairman of the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme, said in his keynote address to the distinguished gathering in a packed UN conference room.
“We must therefore ensure that AI becomes a bridge to opportunity, not another barrier to progress,” he said.
Held at United Nations Headquarters on the margins of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), the title of Wednesday’s discussion was on “AI and the Future of Sustainable Development: Innovation, Inclusion and Resilience”.
The event brought together diplomats, UN officials, AI and technology experts, academics, students and youth representatives.
On his part, Tajikistan’s Minister for Economic Development and Trade, Abdurahmon Abdurahmonzoda, the other keynote speaker, underscored AI’s transformative potential in advancing sustainable development while emphasizing the importance of equitable access, capacity-building and international cooperation to bridge the digital divide.
In this regard, he pointed out that his country had adopted Central Asia’s first National Artificial Intelligence Strategy until 2040, declared 2025–2030 as the Years of the Development of the Digital Economy and Innovation, spearheaded the adoption of the UN General Assembly resolution on AI and sustainable development in Central Asia, and launched the Regional Artificial Intelligence Centre (IT HUB DUSHANBE) to promote regional collaboration, research, innovation and digital skills development.
The event also featured a panel discussion with Jennifer Louie, AI Trust and Safety Expert at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); Hashim Syed, Google AI Go-to-Market Lead; and Bisma Qamar, a Youth Delegate. Representatives of China, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan also participated in the discussion.
In his remarks, Chairman Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan also highlighted Pakistan’s initiatives to harness AI as a catalyst for youth empowerment and national development. He noted that the Government has allocated Rs. 40.58 billion to the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme for 2026–27, underlining Pakistan’s commitment to preparing its youth for an AI-driven economy.
The chairman stated that more than 600,000 laptops have been distributed, 73,000 young people have been trained in AI, blockchain and data science, and over 217,000 technical skills scholarships have been awarded across 8,000 courses. He drew attention to the success of the Digital Youth Hub, which has registered more than 804,000 users, facilitated 114,000 employment opportunities, and partnered with over 3,180 organizations.
Highlighting Pakistan’s long-term AI vision, Rana Mashhood noted that the National Artificial Intelligence Policy aims to train one million AI professionals and 10,000 AI trainers by 2030, while expanding AI education, research and innovation nationwide.
He called for enhanced international cooperation to bridge the global AI divide through investment in digital infrastructure, skills development and responsible AI, ensuring that artificial intelligence becomes a driver of inclusive and sustainable development.
Participants in a panel discussion that followed underscored that AI must serve as a catalyst for inclusive and sustainable development by aligning technological innovation with national development priorities and the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 9 (sustainable industrialization).
The panelists emphasized that while AI has enormous potential to accelerate problem-solving, enhance productivity and stimulate economic growth through stronger collaboration among governments, the private sector and academia, governance frameworks and safeguards must evolve at the same pace to address emerging risks, including cybersecurity threats.
Stressing the centrality of youth in this transformation, they called for expanding initiatives such as the Digital Youth Hub, the National Youth Council and innovation programmes to bridge the gap between opportunity and access, increase support for young innovators, and ensure that young people are not merely beneficiaries, but active architects of the AI-driven future.
Wrapping up the session, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN, emphasized that the exchange of ideas and experiences throughout the discussion demonstrated the value of international partnerships in harnessing AI for sustainable development.
Stressing that humanity—not technology—must shape the future of AI, he underscored the technology’s immense potential to accelerate development while warning that, without equitable access, it could further deepen the digital divide between developed and developing countries.
Referring to the recent Global Dialogue on AI Governance, Ambassador Asim Ahmad called for greater coherence and coordination in global AI governance processes to fully realize AI’s potential for sustainable development.
He outlined four key priorities: bridging the AI divide; translating AI opportunities into tangible and equitable development outcomes; recognizing young people as innovators, partners and decision-makers rather than merely users of technology; and ensuring that AI remains human-centred, ethical, transparent, safe and accountable.
Concluding the discussion, Ambassador Asim Ahmad stressed that the collective objective should be to build strong international partnerships that ensure the benefits of artificial intelligence are shared equitably and contribute to greater inclusion, resilience and sustainable development for all.
APP/ift
