Powering Digital Pakistan: Meta Partners for AI, Skilling & Innovation

Pakistan is making big moves towards a digital future, and it seems a global tech giant is ready to lend a hand. Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunication, Shaza Fatima Khawaja, recently held an important meeting with a high-level delegation from Meta, led by Sarim Aziz, Director of South and Central Asia Public Policy. The discussions focused on a crucial agenda: advancing digitalization in Pakistan, exploring the transformative potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI), and enhancing cooperation in public sector innovation and capacity-building.

Minister Khawaja underscored the government’s firm commitment to building a ‘Digital Pakistan.’ She highlighted that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is personally championing this cause, even chairing weekly review meetings on the nation’s transition towards a cashless economy. This dedicated oversight reflects a clear vision to create a digitally empowered society, one where emerging technologies play a pivotal role in improving governance, service delivery, and driving economic transformation.

During the meeting, Meta’s team provided an overview of their latest breakthroughs in Artificial Intelligence, including their widely recognized LLaMA open-source models and advanced Generative AI applications designed for public sector use. A particularly noteworthy point was the progress being made on local language models, specifically for Urdu, which promises to make AI more accessible and relevant to the Pakistani populace. Both the Ministry and Meta expressed strong enthusiasm for collaborative training initiatives, especially those targeting educators. They agreed to explore deeper cooperation across several key areas: promoting AI adoption, expanding vital digital skilling programs, and forging innovation partnerships to further bolster Pakistan’s rapidly evolving digital ecosystem. This collaboration signifies a promising step towards integrating cutting-edge technology to empower Pakistan’s digital landscape.