DAVOS, Switzerland: Pakistan’s Prime Minister highlighted Pakistan’s rapid progress in emerging technologies on Wednesday, adding that the country is “advancing speedily” in the fields of cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence (AI), and information technology (IT).
PM Sharif was speaking at a breakfast event held on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos.
“Our IT exports have shown remarkable progress in the last few years, in that we brought a lot of instruments which have facilitated IT exports, which stand at $3bn annually,” he said.
In his remarks, the Prime Minister said Pakistan “is moving forward with a sense of achievement and a sense of purpose,” highlighting a decline in the inflation rate and a cut in the policy rate.
He also acknowledged challenges in the export sector and stressed that social indicators “need to be improved through continuous joint efforts.”
“Our exports, collectively, do face different kinds of challenges,” the premier noted. “But the way forward is very clear: Pakistan has to have export-led growth,” he asserted.
Prime Minister Shehbaz stated that the government has implemented “fundamental structural changes” in the system, including the digitalisation of revenue collection.
He noted that the tax-to-GDP ratio has risen to 10.5%, up from 9% two years ago, describing it as a “significant achievement.”
He also highlighted Pakistan’s growing role in the mining and minerals sector, pointing to agreements and memoranda of understanding signed with companies from the United States and China.
“Pakistan has been blessed with infinite natural resources still buried in the heap of mountains in the north of Pakistan, in Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan,” he said.
Regarding youth development, Prime Minister Shehbaz said that the federal and provincial governments have launched numerous programs to empower young people through vocational training and skill-building initiatives.
“As a result, our youth [are] getting productive employment in Gulf states and other parts of the world because they are highly qualified and highly trained,” he emphasised.
Prime Minister Sharif, on improved ties with the United States, expressed hope that Islamabad and Washington would “cooperate extensively” in areas such as mining and minerals, counter-terrorism, information technology, and artificial intelligence.
“I think Pakistan is at a point in time where we are going to take off rapidly in agriculture, industry, the mining industry, AI, and IT,” the prime minister said. “I think that the future is very promising, I have no doubt about it.”
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is leading a high-level delegation in Davos to participate in the World Economic Forum.
He has engaged with global leaders and investors to showcase Pakistan’s economic and technological progress.
