By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Monday the government would invest $1 billion in artificial intelligence by 2030 as part of efforts to build a domestic AI ecosystem and equip the country’s youth for a digital economy.
Addressing the inauguration of Indus AI Week in the capital Islamabad, Sharif outlined a series of initiatives aimed at integrating AI into education, agriculture and other sectors, amid a push to align with global technological advances. “The government of Pakistan is committed to investing $1 billion in AI by 2030, which will go a long way in building an AI ecosystem in our country,” Sharif told the gathering.
Sharif said an AI curriculum would be rolled out not only in federally controlled schools but across all institutions in the regions of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. He stressed that the programme would extend to remote areas of Balochistan province to prepare young people for leadership roles in the digital economy. The prime minister added that the government would offer 1,000 fully funded PhD scholarships in AI to students nationwide by 2030, with the goal of establishing a world-class research centre. “Last but not least, we will launch a nationwide programme to train 1 million non-IT professionals in AI skills, enabling them to enhance productivity and improving livelihoods,” Sharif said.
He affirmed Pakistan’s readiness to tackle the challenge in partnership with international allies, pledging “great commitment and dedication.” Sharif highlighted agriculture, mining and minerals as key focus areas, noting that youth make up 60% of Pakistan’s population and must be empowered with modern knowledge and techniques. “We have to empower them with modern knowledge and modern techniques, and IT startups and IT technicians are already very concerned and feeling the heat and the challenge,” he said, adding that the government would introduce programmes to transition them from IT technicians to AI experts. Such steps, he said, would deliver significant improvements in agricultural yield, quality and efficiency, alongside industrial growth and women’s empowerment.
Last year Pakistan approved its National AI Policy, which seeks to democratise access to AI, improve public services and foster new jobs and innovation. But implementation has lagged more than six months after approval, due to a decision to revise the composition of the AI Council and a lack of response from provincial governments. The only active component of the policy so far is the “Awareness and Readiness” pillar, with officials describing Indus AI Week as an initial step in that direction.
Information Technology Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja, speaking at the event, said Indus AI Week was designed to foster coordination among universities, governments and international firms, according to state-run news agency APP. She added that the Pakistan Digital Authority was developing a national digital master plan to steer future transformations.
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