Pakistan and Saudi Arabia will hold joint workshops to align Islamabad’s national information technology strategy with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, adding a more structured mechanism to expanding cooperation in AI, cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity, digital skills and technology investment.
The initiative was announced during LEAP 2026 in Riyadh, where Pakistan is participating with more than 50 technology companies and 25 startups as it seeks deeper commercial access to the Saudi market.
Pakistan’s IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja said the workshops would focus on bringing elements of Pakistan’s national IT strategy into closer alignment with the Kingdom’s wider economic and digital transformation agenda.
Workshops add practical follow-up to bilateral technology talks
The proposed workshops are intended to move recent discussions between the two countries into a more structured working format.
Pakistan’s IT ministry did not provide a timetable or specify which parts of the national IT strategy would be mapped against Vision 2030.
However, the wider discussions taking place around LEAP indicate that cooperation is likely to span cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity, AI, data governance, digital skills, technology exports and investment.
Khawaja said international cooperation would be essential to technological progress and framed the Saudi relationship as extending beyond conventional trade.
Pakistan seeks deeper access to Saudi technology market
Pakistan has increasingly positioned Saudi Arabia as both an investment source and a priority export market for its technology sector.
At LEAP 2026, Pakistani companies are showcasing capabilities across artificial intelligence, automation and other digital technologies while seeking business-to-business partnerships, investment and international expansion opportunities.
The broader objective is to increase technology exports and help Pakistani firms establish stronger commercial relationships in the Gulf’s largest economy.
Cloud and cybersecurity cooperation also expands
On the sidelines of LEAP, Khawaja met Saudi Communications and Information Technology Minister Abdullah Alswaha.
The two sides agreed to increase cooperation in cloud infrastructure and cybersecurity while also discussing technology exports, investment, digital skills and advanced technology transfer.
The talks also covered stronger institutional cooperation, suggesting that the relationship is moving beyond individual company engagements toward more government-backed coordination.
AI and data governance included in agenda
Khawaja also met Abdullah bin Sharaf Alghamdi, president of the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority.
During the meeting, Pakistan presented its national AI and data-governance initiatives.
The two sides agreed to continue discussions toward a broader partnership covering AI, data governance and advanced technologies.
No specific projects, funding commitments or implementation timelines were announced.
National digital stack could become another area of relevance
Pakistan is also developing a national digital stack intended to support government and private-sector services through shared digital infrastructure.
The wider national strategy includes connectivity expansion, technology zones and institutions responsible for supporting digital transformation.
Closer alignment with Saudi Arabia could therefore extend beyond individual technology projects and into broader questions around digital public infrastructure, cloud architecture and national digital capability.
Why this matters
The importance of the workshops lies in the attempt to connect Pakistan’s domestic digital strategy with a major regional transformation programme.
Saudi Arabia is investing heavily in AI, cloud, cybersecurity and digital infrastructure under Vision 203em0, creating commercial opportunities for technology providers and governments that can align with those priorities.
For Pakistan, closer strategic coordination could support technology exports, attract investment and give local companies more direct access to Saudi enterprise and public-sector demand.
Editor’s note
The workshops will matter only if they result in clearly defined areas of cooperation rather than broad policy alignment.
Pakistan already has strong incentives to deepen its technology relationship with Saudi Arabia, particularly as it looks to grow ICT exports and move local companies into higher-value regional projects.
The next step should be measurable outcomes such as joint cloud initiatives, AI programmes, cybersecurity cooperation, digital skills schemes or procurement pathways for Pakistani firms. That will determine whether the bilateral relationship develops into a substantive technology partnership rather than remaining a series of high-level discussions.
