Pakistan, Google sign landmark MoU for national digital transformation

Pakistan and Google signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Friday to promote national digital transformation and innovation, with a focus on expanding digital skills, IT exports and innovation in the country.

The cooperation marks a significant development towards Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s vision of increasing Pakistan’s IT exports and digital economy to $30 billion by 2030, read a statement.

The MoU was signed during a reception hosted in honour of the Google team under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Under the agreement, Pakistan and Google will cooperate to expand the Google Career Certificates programme to promote digital skills in Pakistan.

Google has set a target of providing 150,000 Google Career Certificates in Pakistan in 2026.

The two sides also agreed to cooperate in increasing Pakistani students’ access to Google’s advanced artificial intelligence (AI) tools.

Pakistani students will have free access to advanced AI tools for a year, including Google AI Plus and Gemini.

Both sides further agreed to cooperate in establishing an AI Centre of Excellence in Islamabad. The centre will train Pakistani youth and human resources according to the requirements of the global market.

The agreement also covered cooperation to enhance the global competitiveness of Pakistan’s mobile applications and gaming industry, promote the country’s digital payments system and expand the scope of digital commerce.

The two sides agreed to cooperate on the use of AI to improve the delivery of public services and make government affairs more effective in Pakistan. AI will also be used in data analytics under the Federal Board of Revenue’s digitisation project.

In the agriculture sector, Pakistan and Google will cooperate on using AI for crop monitoring, forecasting and promoting sustainable agricultural practices.

The agreement also envisaged using digital platforms to provide Pakistani small and medium-sized businesses with access to global markets.

The government, Google and relevant stakeholders will form a task force to prepare a roadmap for Pakistan’s IT exports and competitiveness. The task force will identify obstacles to IT exports and explore growth opportunities.

Pakistan and Google also agreed to increase opportunities for youth in digital skills, startups and the technology sector through greater cooperation.

The government said cooperation between Pakistan and Google would lay the foundation for a new era of digital transformation and innovation in the country.