Economic Minister Aslam Chaudhary of the Pakistan Embassy Economic Wing advocated for deepening digital city collaboration within the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) framework during his address at the ongoing Global Digital Economy Conference.
“The theme of our conference, ‘build a digitally friendly city,’ highlights the harmonious coexistence between people and technology in the city, which is what we often call people-oriented in the digital age,” Chaudhary stated. “We also highly agree with this in Pakistan’s national development strategy.”
Chaudhary emphasized that constructing digitally friendly cities transcends mere technology adoption. "It is about creating an environment where all citizens, whether urban or rural, could use safe and reliable digital technologies,” he explained. He outlined Pakistan’s commitment to expanding digital economy services nationwide, aiming to reach even the remotest areas. Current initiatives include an inclusive service fund strengthening ICT infrastructure under the Six One One Foundation. “Through this, we have laid optical cables in large areas of the country, connecting about 22,000 villages,” Chaudhary reported.
He highlighted the importance of interoperability and international cooperation. “By building digital-friendly cities, different cities are able to recognize each other’s data standards. At the same time, cooperation agreements between countries are an indispensable boost to the digitalization of developing countries,” Chaudhary stressed.
Referencing Pakistan’s upcoming leadership role, Chaudhary noted that Deemah AlYahya, Secretary-General of the Riyadh-based Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO), had previously highlighted Pakistan’s forthcoming presidency as part of efforts to position it as a regional and global digital leader. Pakistan is scheduled to assume the DCO presidency in 2026, following Kuwait’s term in 2025. “The 2026 presidency will see Pakistan hosting the Digital Future Development Initiative (DFDI) forum in Islamabad, marking a significant step in Pakistan’s digital transformation journey,” Chaudhary said.
Outlining priorities for this role, the Minister appealed: “On this occasion, I am going to have three major initiatives. First, strengthen cross-border data flows and interoperability. We are establishing a cross-border data flow norm under the South-South cooperation framework. Second, inclusive digital technology development is essential, including in the fields of agriculture, medical and health industries. Third, we need to conduct joint training of digital talents. Through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor framework, the two countries have signed a talent training agreement. Pakistan’s need for digital talent training is of high urgency.”
Chaudhary identified specific areas for in-depth China-Pakistan cooperation, including cloud computing, flood warning systems, climate change mitigation, and smart cities. He proposed establishing a Digital Friendly City Innovation Center with branches in Beijing, Islamabad, and Karachi to facilitate joint pilot projects.
Concluding, Chaudhary welcomed broader collaboration: “We’re seeing that Beijing is accelerating the construction of a global digital economy benchmark city and exploring the construction of a Digital Silk Road pilot zone. Pakistan is willing to work with China and all other partners around the globe to turn vision into tangible digital reality.”
