HRH Prince Fahad bin Mansour Alsaud announces establishment of Saudi-Pakistan Tech House

Saudi Arabia’s Prince Fahad bin Mansour Al Saud has announced to set up a technology house in Pakistan to enhance cooperation between the two countries in diverse technical fields, the Future Fest management said.

“HRH [His Royal Highness] Prince Fahad bin Mansour Al Saud, during a virtual address to Future Fest stakeholders, announced the establishment of a dedicated Saudi-Pakistan Tech House to promote greater ease of doing business,” said the festival management in an official statement.

Pakistan’s biggest tech conference, Future Fest 2023 is a three-day event, which began on January 6, and has brought together 50,000 participants along with representatives of 500 startups and 200 exhibitors from over 30 countries.

The conference, scheduled to end on January 8, will feature keynote speeches and discussions by investors, innovators, thought leaders, policymakers, and leading entrepreneurs.

This year’s conference is particularly important for Saudi-Pakistan relations since it has brought a bunch of business leaders and entrepreneurs from the kingdom and other Middle East countries.

The Saudi prince is a co-founder of tech giant ILSA Interactive, which was first founded in 2009 by Pakistani entrepreneur Salman Nasir. "It stands as a great hallmark of Pakistan-Saudi digital collaboration excellence," the statement said.

“I’m deeply honored to be a part of such a respected and prestigious gathering of the IT industry with thought leaders of Pakistan at the country’s largest tech conference and expo, Future Fest 2023,” the Saudi prince said.

"My journey to Pakistan started 5 years ago to explore the possibilities of establishing an IT company in Lahore. Let me say that the resources in Pakistan are very talented in all fields; Technical Resources, User Experience and Quality Assurance resources have been great to work with.”

He further added: “At Future Fest 2023, I am pleased a delegation of Saudi startups & venture capitalists will have a chance to meet Pakistani companies and key stakeholders to explore investments, partnerships, acquisitions, and talent recruitment.”

During his address, Prince Fahad bin Mansour Alsaud highlighted the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 roadmap under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman, which has seen the booming of the technology sector along with major new smart cities like NEOM.

He emphasised how companies such as ILSA Interactive are reflective of the determination of both Pakistani and Saudi leaders to further deepen an existing strategic relationship in all fields with plans to forge partnerships with IT companies, Universities and big enterprises in Pakistan.