Federal Minister for IT and Telecom Shaza Fatima Khawaja on Monday met China’s Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology Zhang Yunming on the sidelines of the World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC) at Baku, Azerbaijan, where both sides agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the digital and technology sectors.
During the meeting, Shaza Fatima described the Pakistan–China Digital Silk Road as the next major phase of CPEC, saying it will play a central role in advancing regional connectivity and digital transformation.
She said Pakistan has the potential to serve as a secure and cost-effective digital gateway for the region.
The minister proposed joint ventures between Pakistan and China in key areas, including 5G/6G technologies, hardware manufacturing and ICT components.
She also called for a joint initiative to address systemic diversity barriers in global tech sourcing, aiming to promote fair and inclusive access to digital opportunities.
Shaza Fatima said Pakistan’s industrial sector could gain significantly from adopting China’s “Intelligent Manufacturing” model to support large-scale digital upgradation.
She also stressed the importance of bilateral talent-exchange programmes in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and cloud computing.
Both sides discussed enhanced technical cooperation to help transform Pakistan into a regional data-transit hub through the Pakistan–China cross-border fibre network.
Pakistan and China reaffirmed their commitment to expanding their partnership in digital cooperation and strengthening collaboration across emerging technologies.
