Deputy Prime Minister Senator Ishaq Dar said that the government is taking “concrete” steps to realise the vision of a digital nation, describing the launch of Pakistan's first Chromebook assembly line as a “defining moment” in the country’s digital transformation.
Addressing the event, “Building the Digital Future, Together,” which marked the launch, the deputy prime minister said that localising this initiative will make digital tools more affordable and accessible, especially within the education sector.
“From the launch of Pakistan's first Chromebook assembly line to Google's announcement of establishing a local presence in Pakistan and to the agreement between the Government of Pakistan and Google to upskill our youth, this is a defining moment for our country's digital transformation,” Dar said addressing the event attended by federal ministers, IT experts and representatives of tech giant Google.
The deputy prime minister said that the initiative held great economic significance, marking an industrial milestone to laying the foundation for jobs, supply chain development, and future technology exports.
He said that the step would bring Google closer to Pakistan's developers, startups, and entrepreneurs, enabling direct collaboration, capacity building, and great access to global platforms.
“Let me assure you, the management of Google, you won't regret setting up all this in Pakistan… You will be very happy to be here… And in the years to come, you’ll find many multinational and others partners coming here," he added.
The deputy prime minister said that Pakistan is moving "fairly fast" to achieve the position in the comity of nations, which it was originally destined.
Dar said that under the MoU, Google and Pakistan would collaborate to provide AI skills training for 100,000 developers nationwide.
He said that the incumbent government is committed to creating an environment suitable for technology investment, collaboration, and the establishment of a sustainable local presence.
For this, he said the government had established the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) to facilitate establishing businesses in the least possible time.
“Our policies aim to make Pakistan a regional hub for technology development, backed by a regulatory framework that supports innovations, ensures transparency, and encourages investment.”
Addressing the concerns of high fiscal tax rates, the deputy prime minister said the government was pursuing an agenda to establish a reasonable, affordable, and comparable tax structure.
Coming to the country’s economic outlook, he said that the government is striving to regain and ensure that Pakistan is all set to enter the global G20 club as soon as possible.
He also told the gathering that while Pakistan has total debt and liabilities of $130 billion, it was blessed with mines and minerals, with stones, with hydrocarbons worth around $6 trillion to $10 trillion.
The deputy prime minister, who returned from Istanbul after attending the Coordination Meeting of Arab-Islamic Foreign Ministers, said that last month, the Gaza peace agreement was signed in the presence of President Trump by eight countries.
"Now the efforts are underway to implement that peace agreement, he added."
In a major step toward accelerating Pakistan’s digital transformation and building a Future Forward Pakistan, Google and the Government of Pakistan announced a series of initiatives — including the launch of Pakistan’s Chromebook assembly line and a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to drive the next phase of Pakistan’s digital with the Ministry of IT & Telecommunication (MoITT) to drive digital skills and AI innovation.
Google, in partnership with Tech Valley, Allied, and the National Radio and Telecommunication Corporation (NRTC), launched Pakistan’s first Chromebook assembly line at NRTC’s facility in Haripur.
The facility will assemble 500,000 Chromebooks by 2026, helping to create local jobs, strengthen the digital economy, and pave the way for device exports from Pakistan.
This initiative directly addresses the urgent need to prepare Pakistan’s massive youth population for the future of work in two key ways:
Empowering students: It will provide students and educators across Pakistan with more affordable, high-quality Chromebooks. This access is the key to helping them gain from our digital skills initiatives and become career-ready.
Creating local jobs: The new assembly line will create valuable job opportunities for the local youth.
Farhan Qureshi, Country Director, Google Pakistan, said: “Google has been a part of Pakistan’s digital journey for many years, and the local production of Chromebooks with Allied, NRTC, and Tech Valley marks an important step in our efforts to continue supporting the digital transformations of education in Pakistan.”
“By delivering 'Made-in-Pakistan' Chromebooks, we are providing high-quality, safe, affordable devices that build on our robust digital skilling programs for teachers, students, developers and creators.
This digital skills training and greater adoption of education technologies will narrow the digital skills gap and can add Rs2.8 trillion of annual GDP in Pakistan in 2030. Beyond meeting local demand, this initiative paves the way for exporting locally assembled devices, helping to establish Pakistan as a key hardware exporter.”
Umar Farooq, Founder & CEO of Tech Valley, added: "Our mission is to unlock opportunity for every young person in Pakistan. Locally assembling these affordable devices means we can finally scale access to high-quality digital education. This isn't just about getting kids online; it's about putting them on a direct path to meaningful employment and empowering them to build a stronger national economy from the ground up.”
Alongside the launch, MoITT and Google signed a Memorandum of Understanding to drive the next phase of Pakistan’s digital and AI-powered growth. The partnership focuses on three key areas:
Expanding Digital Skilling: Provide 100,000 Google Career Certificates by 2025, building on 80,000 scholarships already awarded this year, nearly half to women. An AI Skills Lab will also engage 100,000+ developers in AI-first technologies.
Accelerating the gaming and startups industries: Collaborate on policy frameworks for the gaming industry and offer workshops, mentorship, and Google Cloud support for startups under the Pakistan Startup Fund.
AI for Impact: Launch an AI Leaders Fellowship for 100 organisations in Pakistan – including public institutions, startups, and corporates – to adopt AI responsibly, and collaborate on Android services for public safety.
As part of the MOU, Google and MoiTT will also collaborate to share international best practices for an enabling regulatory environment.