ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has announced that Saudi Arabia will soon provide free training to Pakistani students in Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Speaking at the launch of the Prime Minister’s Youth Laptop Scheme 2025 in Islamabad on Thursday, he said hundreds of thousands of students would be sent to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for IT (information technology) training.
He recalled that the Laptop Scheme had been initially launched in 2011 — during his tenure as the Punjab chief minister — and said the government was a total of 100,00 laptops among the deserving students from across the country on merit.
Emphasising Saudi Arabia’s expanding partnership with Pakistan, the Prime Minister revealed that Riyadh will offer free AI training to Pakistani students.
“Saudi Arabia is investing billions of dollars in AI and has expressed readiness to train our students without any cost,” he said. He added that the kingdom’s leadership considers Pakistan its brotherly nation and has always supported its development.
The Prime Minister stated that thousands of young Pakistanis will soon travel to Saudi Arabia to receive advanced training in artificial intelligence and modern technologies. He reaffirmed his commitment to making youth education and skills development a top priority.
“As long as I hold this responsibility, I will dedicate every resource for your education, training, and future success,” Shehbaz said, urging students to dream big and serve the country.
While mentioning that Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are two great nations, Shehbaz said they would make remarkable strides in AI.
His remarks on Saudi Arabia’s training offer came following his recent visit to Riyadh, where Pakistan and Saudi Arabia agreed to launch an Economic Cooperation Framework during his meeting with Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman.
The two sides have already inked a landmark Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement (SMDA) which says “any aggression against either country shall be considered an aggression against both”.
