Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar said on Tuesday that the friendship between Pakistan and China goes beyond ordinary diplomacy, describing it as a relationship “tested by time and strengthened by trust.”
Speaking at the launch ceremony of the Pakistan Digital Economic Centre in Islamabad, he said the emerging Pakistan-China digital corridor would further strengthen bilateral ties while creating new opportunities for the wider Global South.
He noted that Chinese companies have played a major role in improving fiber connectivity between the two countries, helping establish a true digital corridor. He added that Pakistan and China are now progressing “from roads to networks, from physical infrastructure to digital architecture.”
Ishaq Dar described the launch of the Pakistan Digital Economic Centre as an important milestone toward innovation, digital connectivity, and the economy of the future, as cooperation between the two countries enters a new phase in the digital era.
Addressing the ceremony, Minister for Information Technology Shaza Fatima Khawaja said the government introduced the Digital Nation Pakistan Act last year to transform the country into a digital society, economy, and governance model.
She stated that the digitization of Pakistan’s industries could increase the country’s GDP by five to seven percent, potentially adding between 20 to 30 billion dollars to the economy by 2030.
Shaza Fatima also highlighted that Pakistan currently has more than 200 million mobile subscribers and 157 million internet users.
Meanwhile, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Haroon Akhtar Khan said the government is implementing deep structural reforms to transform Pakistan into an export-oriented, industrially competitive, and investment-friendly economy.
