Lahore: Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif, accompanied by a delegation, met senior officials of Chinese technology giant Huawei in China and discussed expanding cooperation in artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure and smart public services.
The Huawei officials warmly received the chief minister and her delegation. CM Punjab welcomed the company’s collaboration with Punjab and invited Huawei to invest in the Nawaz Sharif IT City.
The two sides agreed to train 1,000 young people from Punjab as Huawei master trainers, while 300 women trainers will also receive AI training from the company.
The meeting also reviewed a proposal to establish an Artificial Intelligence Delivery Unit in Punjab and discussed setting up six data centres, including a sovereign data centre, at the Nawaz Sharif IT City.
The participants also agreed to designate a focal person to improve coordination between Huawei and the government of Pakistan.
Cooperation in smart cities, command centres, healthcare, education, agriculture and manufacturing was also discussed. The meeting reviewed a roadmap covering AI, cloud technologies, digital infrastructure, talent development and smart public services.
CM Punjab said advancing Punjab in the field of AI was a top priority, adding that the province was among the most active regions in Pakistan and South Asia in adopting technology.
She said strategic partnerships with leading global technology companies could help build a digitally empowered, innovative and citizen-focused Punjab.
‘Talent development and inclusive access to technology are key pillars of Punjab’s strategy,’ she said, adding that cloud computing, digital infrastructure and locally developed AI models would be developed in the province.
Special Assistant Ali Dar briefed the meeting on the Punjab AI Office, saying AI was being deployed in healthcare, education, infrastructure and governance for the first time on such a broad scale in the province.
He said Punjab had become the first province in Pakistan to establish an AI office and was already using AI in areas including the Safe Cities Authority, agriculture and traffic management. He added that Punjab had also become the first province to use AI technology for heart transplantation.
Ali Dar said Punjab, with a 65 per cent youth population, had significant potential for technology-driven growth and employment. He said the province was targeting an AI-integrated and interconnected system by 2029.
He said AI was being introduced as a compulsory subject in government educational institutions and a pilot project aimed at creating market opportunities for students through AI had been successfully completed.
He added that the government was providing AI training not only to civil servants and officials but also to members of the provincial cabinet.
Special Assistant to CM said Pakistan was the world’s fourth-largest country in terms of the number of freelancers and expressed the provincial government’s willingness to benefit from Chinese technical assistance in AI.
A four-tier data centre would also be established at the Nawaz Sharif IT City, he said.
A senior Huawei executive said the company would continue working with Punjab to promote digital transformation and sustainable development.
