Jam holds meetings to develop modern digital ecosystem for MoC

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan held separate meetings with representatives of the Pakistan Digital Authority (PDA) and the management of Sky47 to explore the development of a secure, integrated and artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled digital ecosystem for the Ministry of Commerce and its attached organisations.

The meetings focused on treating government data as a national asset, strengthening sovereign cloud and data-centre infrastructure, enabling secure data exchange and using AI for evidence-based trade and export policymaking.

Jam Kamal Khan said the Ministry of Commerce maintains extensive information on thousands of tariff and product lines, exporters, international markets, trade bodies, chambers of commerce, business associations and overseas trade missions.

He stressed that this dispersed information needed to be standardised, integrated and made readily accessible to authorised users in secure and decision-friendly formats.

“Pakistan’s trade data is a valuable national asset. It must be protected, properly classified and transformed into actionable intelligence for exporters, businesses and policymakers,” he said.

He emphasised the need to connect the ministry’s wings and attached departments with the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan, chambers and trade associations, as well as Pakistan’s trade officers serving in more than 55 countries.

He also called for greater integration of the ministry’s digital portals to provide a unified view of trade-related activities and market intelligence.

The Pakistan Digital Authority briefed the minister on the emerging national framework for data governance, data exchange, enterprise architecture and cloud adoption.

The meeting discussed classification of government data into categories such as open, shared, restricted and personally identifiable information, while retaining ownership and control of data with the respective ministries and public bodies.

It was emphasised that government departments should share only the information required for a particular purpose instead of transferring complete datasets. The proposed data-exchange mechanism would facilitate secure, standardized and traceable interdepartmental access while preventing misuse of confidential and personal information.

The participants also discussed establishment of a national digital master plan under which sector-specific digitalisation roadmaps could be developed in coordination with federal and provincial governments, public institutions and the private sector.

Jam Kamal highlighted the potential of AI to analyse trade trends, identify export opportunities and assist in preparing market-specific policy recommendations. He said an indigenous AI platform trained on authorised government and sectoral datasets could become a powerful tool for economic planning and public service delivery.

The meeting with Sky47 focused on Pakistan’s data-centre capacity, sovereign cloud services, cyber security, disaster recovery and the growing computing requirements associated with AI.

The Sky47 team briefed the minister on its data-centre infrastructure and plans to expand secure and reliable hosting capacity in Pakistan.

The minister was informed that modern data centres could provide highly reliable services aligned with international standards while reducing the costs and security risks associated with numerous small and fragmented departmental facilities.

The discussions also covered energy-efficient cooling systems, intelligent data storage, metadata management, data-fabric technologies and separate computing requirements for conventional applications, AI models and future quantum-computing workloads.

The minister stressed that Pakistan must build sufficient local capacity to host critical national data within the country, ensuring data sovereignty while enabling innovation and investment in cloud computing, AI and digital services.

The meetings also examined reforms in public-sector technology procurement. Participants underlined the need for cloud-procurement frameworks that would allow government organisations to obtain infrastructure, platforms and software as services without being subjected to unnecessarily lengthy and outdated procedures.

Jam Kamal supported closer coordination among the Pakistan Digital Authority, Ministry of Commerce, Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA), IPO Pakistan and other stakeholders to develop mechanisms for supporting start-ups and innovators.

Such frameworks could enable successful prototypes developed in response to government challenges to move towards transparent, fast-track procurement and wider deployment.

The potential establishment of an Open Network for Digital Commerce, adapted to Pakistan’s requirements, was also discussed. The proposed network could digitally connect producers, exporters, logistics providers, financial institutions and consumers while creating new opportunities for small and medium enterprises.

Jam Kamal also expressed concern over the use of publicly available foreign AI platforms for confidential official work.

He called for clear guidelines, greater awareness and secure domestic alternatives to prevent sensitive government correspondence and institutional data from being transferred to unauthorised external systems.

He directed the relevant teams to continue technical consultations and develop practical proposals for secure data integration, sovereign cloud adoption, AI-enabled trade intelligence and digital-commerce infrastructure.

The minister said the Ministry of Commerce would work closely with the Pakistan Digital Authority, Sky47 and other stakeholders to ensure that Pakistan’s digital transformation directly contributes to export growth, better governance, innovation and long-term economic competitiveness.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026