UNITED NATIONS, Aug 12 (APP):Pakistan has underscored the need to bridge the artificial intelligence divide between developed and developing countries, and translate technological advances into tangible development gains at a global summit held at UN Headquarters in New York. Balochistan Governor Sheikh Jaffar Khan Mandokhail, who represented Pakistan at the Youth and AI Summit held in connection with International Youth Day, also emphasized empowering young people—not merely as users of …
Pakistan calls for equitable access as the core of global AI governance at youth summit
UNITED NATIONS, Aug 12 (APP):Pakistan has underscored the need to bridge the artificial intelligence divide between developed and developing countries, and translate technological advances into tangible development gains at a global summit held at UN Headquarters in New York.
Balochistan Governor Sheikh Jaffar Khan Mandokhail, who represented Pakistan at the Youth and AI Summit held in connection with International Youth Day, also emphasized empowering young people—not merely as users of AI, but as active creators and key participants in shaping its governance.
“Our task, therefore, is to ensure that the AI revolution is both innovative and inclusive,” he said at the forum that brought together some 186 countries.
It was sponsored by the Permanent Missions of the Bahamas and the Dominica, International Organization of Youth, the Major Group for Children and Youth, and their partners.
According to the UN, the summit is aimed at giving young people an active platform to shape AI governance and policy and ensure that youth—who will live with the long-term impacts of AI—are included in decision-making tables.
In his remarks, Governor Mandokhail said that since 70 percent of Pakistani population is under the age of 30 the young people are not simply beneficiaries of Pakistan’s development policies, they are also the principal drivers of the country’s future.
Pakistan’s National AI Policy, he said, provides a roadmap towards a knowledge-based economy, including an ambitious target of training one million AI professionals by 2030, expanding AI education, strengthening research and innovation, and promoting collaboration among government, academia and industry.
“Our youth initiatives are increasingly focused on AI literacy and future skills, enabling young Pakistanis to become innovators, entrepreneurs and technology leaders,” Governor Mandokhail said, noting that this commitment was also reflected in the recent Indus AI Week in Islamabad.
“For me, as Governor of Balochistan, this question has an additional dimension: Technology can help us overcome barriers of geography and distance — a talented young person in Quetta, Gwadar, Turbat or a remote district of Balochistan should have the same opportunity to gain experience, innovate, and compete as any young person anywhere else in the world,” he added.
Pointing out that AI can become a great equalizer, Governor Mandokhail stressed the need for equitable access to it.
“Young people, particularly in the Global South, remain underrepresented in spaces where technological priorities and norms are determined,” he told delegates from around the world.
Governor Mandokhail said that artificial intelligence can help improve education and healthcare, strengthen climate resilience, create productive employment, enhance public services, and accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. But, he said, technological progress will not automatically translate into human progress if developing countries lack access to infrastructure, computing capacity, skills, finance and knowledge.
AI therefore risks widening rather than narrowing existing inequalities, he said.
“We must bridge the AI divide, translate technological advances into tangible development gains, and enable young people not merely to use AI but to develop it and participate in shaping its governance. Most importantly, AI must remain human-centred, ethical, safe, and accountable, with its benefits accessible to all.”
Addressing young friends, Governor Mandokhail said, “The future of artificial intelligence should not simply happen to your generation – your generation must actually help shape it.
“My message to you today is therefore simple: learn, question, innovate and lead. Use technology not merely to build smarter machines, but to build fairer societies, stronger communities, and a more sustainable world.
Pakistan, he said, is determined to place its young people at the centre of this transformation. “And we stand ready to work with the United Nations, Member States, academia, industry and, most importantly, young people themselves to ensure that the age of artificial intelligence becomes an age of greater opportunity, inclusion, and human progress for all.”
