Pakistan plans to invest $1B in artificial intelligence by 2030: Premier Sharif

KARACHI, Pakistan

Pakistan plans to invest $1 billion in artificial intelligence (AI) by 2030, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced on Monday.

"The government of Pakistan is committed to investing $1 billion in AI by 2030, which will go a long way in building an AI ecosystem in our country," Sharif said while speaking at the launch of the Indus AI Week 2026, the country's official national AI platform, in the capital Islamabad.

Islamabad aims to introduce an AI curriculum across Pakistan, including the Pakistan-administered Kashmir and northern Gilgit-Baltistan region, he added.

The government would provide 1,000 fully funded PhD scholarships in AI to students across the country over the next four years, which is aimed at building Pakistan’s “world-class research center fully capacitated,” Sharif noted.

“Last but not least, we will launch a nationwide program to train 1 million non-IT professionals in AI skills, enabling them to enhance productivity and improve livelihoods,” he said.

In July last year, Pakistan approved its first-ever national AI policy to utilize the potential of AI and associated technologies for national growth.