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
https://arab.news/ycgrj
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 PM in Austria to strengthen economic ties on first official visit in over 30 years
- PM Shehbaz Sharif will meet Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker, address Pakistan–Austria Business Forum
- The Pakistan premier says the focus of his interactions would be on trade, investment and economic cooperation
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived in Vienna on Sunday on a two-day visit to strengthen bilateral economic cooperation, marking the first official visit by a Pakistani premier to Austria in over three decades.
Sharif is undertaking the visit, which marks 70 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries, at Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker’s invitation, according to the Pakistani foreign office.
This marks the first visit by any Pakistani prime minister to Austria in more than three decades since then prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who is also Sharif’s elder brother, visited the country in 1992.
Sharif, accompanied by a high-level delegation, was warmly welcomed by Austrian officials and presented a salute by a contingent of Austrian armed forces upon arrival at the Vienna airport, his office said.
“Wheels down in Vienna, a city of history, culture and global diplomacy,” the Pakistan premier said on X late Sunday, adding that he looked forward to his meeting with Chancellor Stocker.
“Our focus shall be on trade, investment and economic cooperation.”
He said he was also keen to engage with the leadership of the International Atomic Energy Agency, United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime and United Nations Industrial Development Organization to deepen cooperation in peaceful nuclear energy, counter-narcotics and crime control, sustainable industrial development and shared progress.
During the visit, Sharif’s office said, the prime minister will also address the Pakistan-Austria Business Forum and co-chair with the Austrian chancellor a meeting of leading businessmen to increase investment between the two countries.
Islamabad and Vienna enjoy cooperation in the domains of trade, economy, culture and education, according to the Pakistani foreign ministry. Sharif’s visit will establish new dimensions to the Pakistan-Austria relations.
