Pakistan, UAE Forge AI & Cybersecurity Pact at GITEX 2025
▼ Summary
– Pakistan and the UAE agreed to deepen cooperation in AI, digital governance, data innovation, and cybersecurity during a high-level meeting at GITEX Global 2025.
– Pakistan showcased its innovation ecosystem at GITEX 2025 with a National Pavilion featuring 10 startups and 26 technology firms.
– Pakistan’s Digital Nation vision aims to establish the country as a regional hub for innovation and digitization through smart governance and AI adoption.
– Both countries will enhance collaboration in advanced technologies, data sovereignty, startup investments, cyber-resilience, and AI-enabled infrastructure.
– Pakistan’s IT exports to the UAE grew to $380 million in 2025, reflecting its rising stature in the regional digital economy.
Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates have solidified a strategic partnership focusing on artificial intelligence, digital governance, and cybersecurity during the GITEX Global 2025 technology exhibition in Dubai. This agreement emerged from high-level discussions between Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Pakistan’s Federal Minister for IT and Telecom, and Omar Suwaina Al Suwaidi, Undersecretary at the UAE Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology. Held alongside one of the world’s premier tech events, the meeting underscored a mutual drive to accelerate digital transformation and secure technological infrastructure.
GITEX 2025, which runs from October 13 to 17, has drawn an impressive global turnout with more than 6,500 companies from 180 countries and nearly 200,000 technology professionals in attendance. Minister Khawaja inaugurated Pakistan’s National Pavilion, featuring 10 startups and 26 established technology firms. The pavilion highlights the country’s expanding innovation ecosystem and its dedication to fostering regional technological collaboration.
Minister Khawaja elaborated on Pakistan’s strategic direction, stating, “Our Digital Nation vision aims to establish Pakistan as a regional hub for innovation and public-sector digitization.” She pointed to key initiatives such as the Digital Nation Pakistan Act, the National Data Exchange Layer, and ongoing work toward a cashless economy as foundational elements of this strategy.
The bilateral talks yielded commitments to strengthen cooperation in several advanced fields, including data sovereignty, cross-border startup investments, and next-generation infrastructure. Both nations discussed frameworks for enhancing cyber-resilience, cloud governance, and AI-enabled systems, reinforcing a shared objective of achieving secure and sustainable digital growth.
In a separate engagement, Minister Khawaja met with Dr. Mohamed Al Kuwaiti, Head of the UAE Cybersecurity Council, to advance joint initiatives in cloud infrastructure security and cyber capacity-building. Additional meetings were held with Abu Dhabi’s G42 Cloud Group and the Abu Dhabi Investment Office, exploring potential collaborations on sovereign cloud infrastructure and specialized AI innovation hubs.
Further expanding Pakistan’s international tech diplomacy, the minister convened with representatives from Romania’s Ministry of Economy. They discussed establishing institutional linkages between Pakistan’s National Cyber Emergency Response Team (PKCERT) and Romania’s DNSC. Minister Khawaja also met with leading AI firms, including Liquid AI and Cerebras Systems, to discuss skill development programs and access to advanced computing infrastructure in line with Pakistan’s National AI Policy 2025.
Pakistan’s increasing prominence at GITEX mirrors its expanding role in the regional digital economy. Ambassador Faisal Niaz Tirmizi highlighted the growth in IT exports to the UAE, which climbed from $280 million in 2024 to $380 million in 2025, signaling strong and growing economic and technological ties between the two nations.
(Source: MEA Tech Watch)
