Pakistan must collaborate with China on AI, quantum computing

ISLAMABAD-Pakistani technology experts believe that the country’s future information technology (IT) development is aligned with that of China, which is doing wonders in artificial intelligence (AI), nanotechnology, quantum computing and other high-end industries.

Speaking to WealthPK, Automcamp co-founder Naveed Iftikhar said China has made remarkable progress in research and development (R&D) and human resource training. “Pakistan needs to collaborate more with China to train our human resources and do more R&D,” he said.

Hussain Nadim, a well-known IT expert and founder of a 5G internet observatory, told WealthPK that Pakistan’s main focus is on tangible development items such as dams and infrastructure. “On the other hand, China dominates in R&D because it is one of the leaders in AI, nanotechnology, quantum computing and other industries,” he said.

“Although with one percent of Chinese technological cooperation, we could do wonders to improve our technical capabilities,” Hussain Nadim said. He said Pakistan needs to “de-secure” the tech space and focus on trade, business and training aspects. “We also need technical and information technology corridors, which are the future of Pakistan and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor,” he added.

Hamza Saeed Orakzai, director of planning and regulatory affairs at the Special Technology Zone Authority (STZA), told WealthPK that “we established the China Pakistan Science and Technology Centre, the first of its kind, in Beijing about two months. Recently, we also held a webinar, which was attended by around 5,000 Chinese technology companies and delegations. He said that Pakistan has a considerable youth population, which should be made to learn the Chinese language, and at the same time they should speak English, to properly align Pakistan with the two largest economies in the world – China and United States. He said the STZA helps Chinese companies wishing to open businesses in Pakistan get licenses quickly, saving them from having to visit 10 different government agencies for this purpose. “These companies can simply come to STZA, register digitally, and start doing business immediately, saving them about six months it takes for a company to clear many regulatory bottlenecks before they can do business.” Hamza Saeed said he hoped more Chinese tech companies would soon join the Pakistani tech market with the help of STZA.