LAHORE: Representatives of Saudi firms participating in a three-day event in the eastern city of Lahore on Saturday praised Prince Fahad bin Mansour Al Saud’s initiative to set up a technology house in Pakistan to ensure greater collaboration between the two countries while describing it as a knowledge-sharing opportunity.
In a virtual address to Pakistan’s biggest technology conference, Future Fest 2023, the Saudi prince announced the decision to establish a dedicated Saudi-Pakistan Tech House “to promote greater ease of doing business.”
The festival, which is scheduled to conclude today, has brought together 50,000 participants along with representatives of 500 startups and 200 exhibitors from over 30 countries. After premiering in Islamabad last year, its second edition was organized in with the help of Punjab provincial administration and information technology board.
The conference featured several entrepreneurs, thought leaders, inventors, investors and startups from Saudi Arabia. Many of these people also welcomed the joint technology house initiative, saying it would serve the economic interests of both countries.
“It’s actually a great achievement that will link the economies of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan,” Abdulrahman Alyemni, logistics director at Salasa, an e-commerce company based in the kingdom, told Arab News. “We can use these human capital resources that Pakistan has and utilize them to help and assist us to build an IT infrastructure in Saudi Arabia for each company.”
Abdulrahman Alyemni, logistics director of Saudi-based e-commerce company, Salasa, poses for a photograph during Future Fest 2023, Pakistan’s biggest tech conference, in Lahore on January 7, 2023. (AN Photo/Muhammad Islam)
Alyemni said he was “amazed” by the potential and skill of Pakistani workers.
“They are, I believe, [among] the biggest providers of [freelance services] around the globe,” he continued while pointing out that a number of Pakistani tech firms were working in the kingdom and supporting its development.
“They contribute to the structure and knowledge of Saudi Arabia big time,” he added.
Khalid Abou Kassem, founder and CEO of digital platform Al-Gooru that helps students find private tutors on demand, said the joint technology house would open doors for greater collaboration and increase cross-border opportunities for both countries.
“This is something that excites us because it gives us access to the talent here [in Pakistan],” he told Arab News. “It will give us access to the caliber and it will give us caliber to develop and initiate projects between the Saudi and Pakistani ecosystems, which we are excited for.”
Khalid Abou Kassem, founder and CEO of Saudi-based digital platform, Al Gooru, poses for a photograph during an interview with Arab News at Future Fest 2023, Pakistan’s biggest tech conference, in Lahore on January 7, 2023. (AN Photo/Muhammad Islam)
Kassem maintained that Saudi companies, in a much greater number, would want to outsource their technologies and operations to Pakistan.
“We can learn a lot from each other,” he continued. “Both markets are considered emerging, so there are a lot of learnings that we can be sharing with each other and that is also something that’s amazing to have between both ecosystems.”
Humayun Rashid, corporate account manager at Saudi-based cloud company Unifonic, described the technology house as a major development at a time when the world was undergoing a huge financial crunch.
“It will be a positive breeze for businesses and I’m looking forward [to it since] it will help businesses from both countries very positively and be a great opportunity for them to come together and grow as an industry,” he added.
Mujtaba Ahmad, technical support manager of Tracker that offers fleet management solutions, said the initiative announced by the prince would further enhance commercial activities between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
“It will increase the trade between the two countries [and help them] work on technologies more efficiently to serve humanity,” he maintained.
