Pakistan Pushes for Stronger Digital City Collaboration via CPEC
At the Global Digital Economy Conference in Beijing on July 2, Aslam Chaudhary, Economic Minister at the Pakistan Embassy’s Economic Wing, highlighted Pakistan's call for expanding digital city collaboration under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Emphasising the conference theme, “Build a Digitally Friendly City,” he noted that such development embodies a people-centric digital age where technology serves society harmoniously.
Chaudhary stated that Pakistan is committed to ensuring that both urban and remote populations have access to safe, inclusive digital services. As part of this goal, Pakistan has created an inclusive service fund under the Six One One Foundation to strengthen the national ICT infrastructure. This initiative has led to the deployment of optical fibre in vast regions, linking more than 22,000 villages.
P.c. China Pakistan Economic Corridor
He pointed out that building digitally friendly cities goes beyond technology; it's about unifying standards and ensuring interoperability. Pakistan, through cross-border collaboration, aims to strengthen data-sharing frameworks and digital infrastructure with partners like China. This cooperation is seen as crucial for developing nations transitioning into the digital age.
Highlighting future initiatives, Chaudhary revealed Pakistan's roadmap as it prepares to assume the presidency of the Riyadh-based Digital Cooperation Organisation (DCO) in 2026. The presidency will feature the Digital Future Development Initiative (DFDI) forum in Islamabad, positioning the country as a regional digital leader.
The minister announced three key initiatives: enabling cross-border data flows through South-South cooperation, developing inclusive digital technologies in key sectors like agriculture and healthcare, and launching joint training programmes to address the digital talent gap. Notably, under CPEC, China and Pakistan have already signed a digital talent development agreement.
He also identified areas ripe for collaboration, including smart cities, climate monitoring, cloud computing, and flood early warning systems. Chaudhary proposed a Digital Friendly City Innovation Centre with branches in Beijing, Islamabad, and Karachi to drive joint pilot projects and further the digital partnership between nations.
Pakistan expressed strong support for Beijing's efforts to become a global digital economy benchmark and is eager to align itself with international partners to transform vision into actionable digital progress.