Minister of State for Information Technology and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja on Saturday said Saudi companies, entrepreneurs, investors and business groups are expected to invest in Pakistan’s I.T. industry, pointing to the upcoming LEAP 2025 summit in Riyadh as key to this goal.
Addressing the Pakistan x Saudi Business Forum 2025 as a chief guest, she said the upcoming summit could prove highly-productive for the country’s export growth, I.T. industry expansion and employment generation ambitions.
The Pakistan x Saudi Business Forum 2025 was jointly organized by the Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) and the Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) in Riyadh. LEAP 2025 is an ongoing tech event and includes the participation of over 100 tech companies and 1,000 delegates from across Pakistan.
During the forum, P@SHA Chairman Sajjad Mustafa Syed maintained that the private sector and I.T. industry had performed exceedingly well despite all odds and challenges. He noted it had achieved $348 million in I.T. exports in December 2024. “The pace of growth in skills development; onboarding of new hi-tech verticals; domestic expansion and foreign direct investment into the I.T. industry; large pool of young, committed I.T. professionals and perseverance of the I.T. companies have made it possible,” he added.
According to Mustafa, 425 senior, high-profile guests from the international I.T. fraternity; Pakistani and Saudi government officials; diplomats; CEOs and country directors of big I.T. companies from across the world; large-scale importers of I.T. services and investors had participated in the Pakistan x Saudi Business Forum.
Meanwhile, P@SHA Senior Vice Chairman Muhammad Umair Nizam stressed that the I.T. industry had maintained its momentum in the past year despite multiple challenges. “We did not heed to the negative propaganda against the I.T. industry of Pakistan, and not only expanded our base, but also created more jobs and fulfilled bigger export orders successfully,” he maintained.
Ambassador of Pakistan to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Ahmed Farooq acknowledged the endeavors of P@SHA at LEAP 2025, noting this displayed to the world the collective efforts of the Pakistani government and private-sector in becoming next big tech destination.
Demaah AlYahya of the Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO), an international intergovernmental organization founded in 2020 by Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, also highlighted that P@SHA was awarded observer status in the organization last year. The DCO is a multilateral organization focusing on fostering international cooperation among key stakeholders to accelerate the growth of an inclusive and sustainable digital economy.
PSEB CEO Abu Bakar explained that the objective to take P@SHA onboard was to have the maximum participation of I.T. companies in the Pakistan x Saudi Business Forum and LEAP 2025. As the apex body of Pakistan’s I.T. sector, he said, P@SHA had tangible connections and working relationships in all sub-sectors and verticals across Pakistan and beyond.