ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and China this month signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enhance cooperation in quantum technologies, in a move officials say will expand bilateral collaboration into advanced research, development and innovation fields.
The initiative is part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a flagship project of China’s Belt and Road Initiative aimed at developing energy infrastructure, highways, ports and industrial zones to improve Pakistan’s connectivity and economic growth.
The first phase of CPEC, launched in 2015, largely focused on power, infrastructure and transport projects. The second phase is now centered on industrial cooperation, technology transfer and skills development, with a greater emphasis on digital and knowledge-based sectors.
“China will assist Pakistan in establishing the National Center for Quantum Computing, which will mark a major step forward in the country’s technological advancement,” Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal was quoted as saying in a statement released by the Press Information Department earlier this month when the MoU was signed.
The agreement was signed between the China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC), a major Chinese state-owned technology conglomerate, and the Emerging Technologies Lab, a PSDP-funded project under the Pakistani Ministry of Planning. The cooperation will include research partnerships, joint initiatives, expert exchange and skills training.
Both sides reaffirmed that technological cooperation is a key pillar under CPEC Phase-II, which focuses on industrial modernization, digital transformation and human resource development.
Minister Iqbal said the collaboration represented a deepening of scientific ties between the two countries.
“This collaboration will serve as a new chapter in Pakistan-China scientific relations,” the minister said. “Quantum technology represents the future, and cooperation with China in this domain will be a game changer for Pakistan.”
Iqbal said quantum computing and artificial intelligence (AI) were shaping the global economy, and Pakistan needed to build domestic capacity to remain competitive.
Under the government’s ‘Uraan Pakistan’ initiative, he said, the state was working to expand access to emerging technologies to prepare the workforce for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
“Investments in emerging technologies are the key to joining the ranks of developed nations,” he noted. “We are initiating the Quantum Valley Project, which will become Pakistan’s own Silicon Valley, a hub for innovation, technology, and knowledge-based development,” he added.
