ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday urged foreign companies to invest in Pakistan and exchange technology to help the nation enhance its products and exports, saying it had received $700 million in funding commitments at its inaugural Digital Foreign Direct Investment (DFDI) summit.
Pakistan wants to use the two-day forum to position Pakistan as a “pivotal hub for digital investments,” IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja has said.
The forum is being organized by Pakistan’s IT and Telecommunication ministry in collaboration with the Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO). Over 400 delegates and more than 200 IT and telecom companies are attending the event from over 30 countries. Pakistan aims to bring together global policymakers to discuss frameworks that enhance digital infrastructure and exports across the 16 DCO member states. As the host, Islamabad also wants to showcase its readiness for digital investment.
“Fourteen million dollars, $20 million, $30 million, $500 million, all put together, $700 million,” Sharif said as he addressed the conference, announcing investment commitments made so far.
“We are inviting all of you, companies from North America, from Europe and other parts of the world to please come forward and give us support, hold our hand [and show us] how to improve our agriculture through modern technologies … how to enhance our exports.”
As of 2025, Internet penetration in Pakistan was estimated at 58.4 percent, according to the IT ministry, with 142 million Internet users in a population of over 240 million. Mobile penetration is at 79.4 percent, including 72.99 million smartphone users.
Pakistan also has an over $3 billion IT export market, with IT exports reaching $1.86 billion in the first half of fiscal year 2024-25, up 28.04 percent year-on-year. Its exports grew 26 percent in the first half of the current fiscal year, reaching $300 million monthly.
However, the forum is being held as digital media in Pakistan has been muffled with measures by telecom authorities to slow down Internet speeds and restrict VPN use while social media platform X has been blocked for over a year. Earlier this year, parliament approved a law to regulate social media content that rights activists and experts widely say is aimed at curbing press freedom and controlling the digital landscape. The government denies this.
Last year the Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) said Pakistan’s economy could lose up to $300 million due to Internet disruptions caused by the imposition of a national firewall to monitor and regulate content and social media platforms.
The government denies the use of the firewall for censorship.
