ISLAMABAD: Pakistani expatriates living in Saudi Arabia have hosted a networking event in Riyadh for Pakistani tech companies, which participated in the recently concluded LEAP 2025 tech conference, in a bid to enhance Pakistan’s IT exports to the Kingdom, the organizers said on Friday.
The fourth edition of LEAP, recognized as Saudi Arabia’s award-winning global technology event, opened on Feb. 9 and will continued till Feb. 12, for which entrepreneurs, investors and startups converged in Riyadh from around the world to present their innovative products and tech solutions.
This year, Pakistan had one of the largest delegations ever at LEAP, with over 100 tech companies and more than 1,000 delegates participating in the four-day event, which offered Pakistani firms a platform to collaborate with stakeholders, explore business opportunities and showcase Pakistan’s diverse IT exports, including software development, artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, fintech, gaming and robotics.
On Friday, Majlise Pakistan, a professional forum of Pakistanis based in Saudi Arabia, said it had hosted the networking event to help these Pakistani IT firms and professionals with business development, talent requirement, collaboration and join-ventures in the Kingdom.
“Saudi-based Pakistani investors, businessmen and professionals vowed to collaborate with new IT companies entering the emerging market of the KSA [Kingdom of Saudi Arabia],” Majlise Pakistan Patron-in-Chief Saqib Zubair said in a statement.
“Pakistani entrepreneurs are also willing to invest in Pakistani companies and startups along with their Saudi partners to enhance the footprint of Pakistani companies in the KSA.”
Pakistan recorded the highest-ever monthly IT exports of $348 million in Dec. 2024, up by 15 percent year-on-year and 12 percent month-on-month, according to official data.
Tufail Ahmed Khan, president of the Pakistan Freelancers Association (PAFLA), said Pakistani IT entrepreneurs and companies could provide practical insights to Pakistani investors coming to the Saudi market due to their experiences and networking.
“Expatriate Pakistanis are well aware of the policies and authorities of the host country, which are very important for new entrants to adopt for settling and growth,” he added.
Pakistanis are the second-largest expatriate community in the Kingdom, with over 2.5 million living and working in Saudi Arabia, according to Pakistani authorities. These Pakistani workers serve as top source of remittances to the South Asian country.
Saad Shah, CEO of the Hexalyze IT consultancy firm, said Pakistan’s professional community could provide a strategic partnership to Pakistani IT and tech companies for setting up operations and development of business in Saudi Arabia.
“Pakistani IT companies could hire IT professionals residing in Saudi Arabia as consultants and employees to scale up their businesses in the host country rather than continuing with the costly option of relocating staff from Pakistan,” he suggested.
Pakistani expats hold networking event in Riyadh to boost Pakistan’s IT exports to Kingdom
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Pakistani expats hold networking event in Riyadh to boost Pakistan’s IT exports to Kingdom
- The event hosted Pakistani IT firms, professionals who participated in recently concluded LEAP 2025 tech conference in Riyadh
- Saudi-based Pakistani investors, businessmen and professionals vowed to collaborate with new IT companies entering the Kingdom
Pakistan offers Kyrgyzstan Arabian Sea access as two states sign 15 cooperation accords
- Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan sign MOUs spanning trade, energy, agriculture, ports, education, security cooperation
- Kyrgyz president is on first visit to Pakistan in 20 years as both sides push connectivity and CASA-1000 power links
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday offered Kyrgyzstan the shortest and most economical route to the Arabian Sea as the two countries signed 15 agreements and memoranda of understanding aimed at boosting cooperation across trade, energy, agriculture, education, customs data-sharing and port logistics.
The accords were signed during a visit to Islamabad by President Sadyr Zhaparov, the first by a Kyrgyz head of state to Pakistan in two decades, and part of Islamabad’s renewed push to link South Asia with landlocked Central Asian economies through ports, power corridors and transport routes.
For Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan offers access to hydropower through CASA-1000, a $1.2 billion regional electricity transmission project designed to carry surplus summer electricity from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan through Afghanistan into Pakistan. For Bishkek, Pakistan provides overland access to warm-water ports on the Arabian Sea, creating a shorter commercial route to global markets.
“President Asif Ali Zardari has reiterated Pakistan’s readiness to offer Kyrgyzstan the shortest and most economical route to the Arabian Sea,” Radio Pakistan reported after Zhaparov met the Pakistani president.
The two leaders also discussed expanding direct flights to deepen business, tourism and people-to-people ties.
Zardari welcomed Kyrgyzstan’s completion of its segment of the CASA-1000 project and “reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to completing its part of the project, which is now at an advanced stage,” the state broadcaster said.
Zhaparov thanked Islamabad for supporting Bishkek’s candidacy for a non-permanent UN Security Council seat and invited Zardari to visit Kyrgyzstan at a time of his convenience. Both sides expressed satisfaction with progress under the Quadrilateral Traffic in Transit Agreement, designed to facilitate road movement between Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and China.
Earlier, both governments exchanged 15 sectoral cooperation documents covering commerce, mining, geosciences, power, agriculture, youth programs, the exchange of convicted persons, customs electronic data systems and a sister-city linkage between Islamabad and Bishkek.
According to APP, the MOUs were signed by ministers representing foreign affairs, commerce, economy, energy, power, railways, interior, culture, health and tourism. Agreements also covered cooperation between Pakistan’s Foreign Service Academy and the Diplomatic Academy of Kyrgyzstan, as well as collaboration between universities, youth ministries and cultural institutions.
“Our present mutual trade, comprising of about $15–16 million will be enhanced to $200 million in the next two years,” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said after the agreements were signed, calling them “a framework for structured, result-oriented engagement and closer institutional linkages.”
Sharif said Pakistan was ready to serve as a maritime outlet for the landlocked Central Asian republic, offering access to Karachi, Port Qasim and Gwadar to help Kyrgyz goods reach regional and global markets.
