In a major step to make Pakistan a regional IT hub, Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunications Shaza Fatima Khawaja said on Saturday that Google will produce around 600,000 Chromebooks in the country annually.
Speaking to media, she said that Google has completed its registration in Pakistan and plans to open its office in the country soon.
Highlighting the recent developments under the Prime Minister’s leadership, she said Pakistan’s engagement with leading global technology and social media companies has entered a new and productive phase.
Shaza explained that Google’s local production of Chromebooks, in collaboration with the Department of Defense Production and NRTC, shows how public-private partnerships can advance IT manufacturing.
The minister said the initiative aims to provide affordable, high-quality devices, especially for students and the education sector.
“Such high-tech ventures reflect the growing confidence of global companies in Pakistan’s economy, while also promoting technology transfer, international best practices and job creation,” she added.
During her visit to the Haripur facility, the minister said she was pleased to see around 600 young men and women working there. “As production increases, the assembly line will be expanded to create more jobs and enable exports of Chromebooks,” she said, highlighting the strong participation of women engineers in the advancement of Pakistan’s technology landscape.
The minister also said that the IT ministry has finalized a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Google to provide technical training to youth, especially girls, with a focus on Artificial Intelligence (AI).
“We plan to open AI labs in Pakistan in partnership with Google, focusing mainly on secondary schools to integrate AI education into the curriculum,” she said.
The Ministry of Education and provincial authorities in Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are actively supporting the initiative.
Shaza Fatima highlighted recent developments at Meta, noting that Meta’s regional team visited Pakistan last month to train federal and private sector media teams on disinformation and disinformation management.
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In an important step for AI accessibility, Meta’s AI platform is now available in Urdu, enabling students and citizens across Pakistan to learn, experiment and develop AI applications in their national languages. Pakistan is therefore one of the few countries in the world that offers this function.
On the social media front, she said TikTok has launched a dedicated STEM feed in Pakistan, which offers free educational content in science, technology, engineering and math. The initiative provides students and underprivileged communities with access to learning resources through a widely used platform.
“These partnerships with global technology leaders highlight the immense potential of our youth, who are not only hardworking but also innovative and enterprising,” Shaza Fatima said, emphasizing that initiatives such as AI labs, Urdu-language platforms and educational social media features aim to equip Pakistan’s next generation with skills for a technology-driven future.
She also highlighted Pakistan’s growing cooperation with Saudi Arabia in technology and AI, describing it as an important step towards accelerating economic growth and job creation.
Saudi GO Telecommunications Group, she said, has launched an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Hub in Pakistan, connecting local technology companies with Saudi companies.
“Through this platform, Pakistani freelancers, small businesses and micro-businesses can remotely provide technology services to Saudi companies without the need for a physical office in Saudi Arabia,” she explained. Saudi companies are also setting up offshoring offices in Pakistan, further increasing employment opportunities and boosting exports.
