https://arab.news/be3n6
- Shaza Fatima Khawaja held meetings on the sidelines of the event featuring Pakistani startups and tech firms
- Pakistan and the UAE also discussed joint work on cybersecurity, data sovereignty and cloud infrastructure
KARACHI: Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday agreed to deepen cooperation in artificial intelligence, digital governance and data innovation during a meeting held on the sidelines of GITEX Global 2025 in Dubai, Pakistan’s IT ministry said.
The event, which runs from Oct 13 to 17 and features more than 6,500 companies from over 180 countries, is the world’s largest tech exhibition, drawing nearly 200,000 professionals and speakers on AI, cybersecurity, quantum computing and sustainable technologies.
Pakistan has set up a National Pavilion with 10 startups and more than 26 technology firms to highlight the country’s expanding digital potential at the event. The pavilion was inaugurated by IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja, who held talks with Omar Suwaina Al Suwaidi, undersecretary at the UAE Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology, on expanding collaboration in advanced technology and startup development.
“The minister highlighted Pakistan’s Digital Nation Pakistan Act, National Data Exchange Layer and initiatives promoting a cashless economy, smart governance and AI integration," the ministry said. "Both sides agreed to strengthen cooperation in advanced technology, data innovation and cross-border startup investment.”
The Digital Nation Pakistan vision seeks to position the country as a regional hub for innovation and public-sector digitization through policies encouraging AI adoption and e-governance.
Khawaja also met Dr Mohamed Al Kuwaiti, head of the UAE Cybersecurity Council, to discuss joint work on cyber-resilience, cloud governance and data-infrastructure security. Both sides agreed to develop frameworks for data sovereignty, cybersecurity capacity-building and training initiatives.
Meetings with Abu Dhabi’s G42 cloud group and the Abu Dhabi Investment Office explored partnerships on sovereign-cloud infrastructure, AI innovation hubs and digital investment under Pakistan’s Cloud First Policy.
The minister further held discussions with Vasile Catalin, advisor at Romania’s Ministry of Economy, on cooperation in cybersecurity policy, ethics and digital governance and explored institutional linkages between Pakistan’s National Cyber Emergency Response Team (PKCERT) and Romania’s National Cybersecurity Directorate (DNSC).
In separate sessions, Dr Ramin Hasani, CEO of Liquid AI, and Andrew Feldman, CEO of Cerebras Systems, briefed Khawaja on AI research and infrastructure projects, agreeing to collaborate on AI-skill development, startup incubation and access to advanced compute systems supporting Pakistan’s National Artificial Intelligence Policy 2025.
Pakistan’s expanding footprint at GITEX has coincided with rising IT exports to the UAE, which reached $380 million this year, up from $280 million in 2024, according to Pakistan’s ambassador to the UAE, Faisal Niaz Tirmizi.