Ahsan urges diaspora to back Pakistan’s AI, innovation, export-led growth

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA, July 09 (APP): Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Professor Ahsan Iqbal on Thursday called upon the Pakistani diaspora in the United States to rise above political differences and unite under the banner of “Pakistan First” to support the country’s economic transformation through innovation, technology and exports.

Addressing a breakfast reception hosted by the Pakistani community during his visit to Northern California, the minister said Pakistan’s future prosperity depended on economic self-reliance driven by exports, innovation, technology and human capital development.

He said the government’s URAAN Pakistan initiative was steering the country towards a knowledge-based, technology-driven and sustainable economy, with the goal of transforming Pakistan into a one-trillion-dollar economy by 2035 and increasing exports to over US$ 100 billion.

Highlighting the role of overseas Pakistanis, Ahsan urged the diaspora to serve as ambassadors for Pakistan by promoting investment, technology transfer, entrepreneurship and international business linkages.

He said the United States remained Pakistan’s largest export market, making the Pakistani-American community a vital bridge for expanding bilateral trade and investment.

The minister said E-Pakistan was a national priority and described artificial intelligence as a historic opportunity for the country.

He informed participants that the government was establishing National Centres of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence, Cyber Security, Big Data, Robotics, Genomics and Quantum Computing to prepare Pakistan for the next wave of technological advancement.

He also highlighted the ongoing US-Pakistan Knowledge Corridor initiative aimed at developing world-class human capital through partnerships with leading international universities.

During an interactive session, community members proposed transforming Pakistani consulates into centres for export promotion, technology cooperation and investment facilitation, creating advisory groups of Pakistani experts in Silicon Valley to support AI adoption and curriculum reforms, strengthening partnerships between Silicon Valley professionals and Pakistan’s National Innovation Centres, and attracting global technology firms to establish research and development facilities in Pakistan.

Welcoming the proposals, Ahsan said Pakistan should translate recent diplomatic goodwill into stronger economic partnerships, innovation-led growth and technology collaboration.

Later, the minister met Saeed Amidi, founder and chief executive officer of Plug and Play Tech Center, to discuss cooperation for strengthening Pakistan’s startup ecosystem and integrating local entrepreneurs with global innovation networks.

During the meeting, Plug and Play expressed interest in supporting up to 300 startups from Pakistan’s leading universities, connecting entrepreneurs with its network of more than 600 global corporate partners, and assisting startups in securing investment and expanding into international markets while retaining their operations in Pakistan.

The company also offered to issue a Letter of Intent for establishing offices in Islamabad and Karachi.

Welcoming the proposal, the minister accepted the offer in principle and invited the company to share its Letter of Intent and proposed areas of collaboration to facilitate a high-level delegation’s visit to Pakistan.

He said Pakistan possessed significant advantages in its youthful population, competitive engineering workforce and continued investment in digital and information technology skills, adding that with the right international partnerships, the country’s growing startup ecosystem could emerge as a leading regional innovation hub.

During his engagements in Northern California, the minister also interacted with leading Silicon Valley technology professionals and attended a dinner reception hosted by members of the Pakistani-American community.

Discussions focused on expanding cooperation in artificial intelligence, innovation, entrepreneurship, investment and technology transfer.

Members of the Pakistani community reaffirmed their commitment to supporting Pakistan’s economic transformation through investment, knowledge sharing and technology collaboration, while endorsing the minister’s “Pakistan First” message and pledging support for the goals of URAAN Pakistan.