EmpowerTech Islamabad 2026 will bring together around 300 leaders and practitioners from government, regulators, industry, academia, technical communities and the wider digital ecosystem, in order to discuss how Pakistan can turn the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) into meaningful and inclusive digital development. The event is titled AI and Pakistan Digital Future: Building Capability, Policy and Infrastructure, and it will be held in person on Wednesday, November 25, 2026, at the Mövenpick Hotel Centaurus in Islamabad. It is listed on the engagement calendar of ICANN, and further information is available on the event page of the APNIC Foundation.
The programme runs from 7:00 to 15:00 UTC, which is from 12:00 noon to 8:00 PM Pakistan Standard Time. The event is classified as an open event in the category of internet ecosystem events, and the language of the proceedings is English. By inviting participants from government bodies, regulators, companies, universities and technical communities, the organizers have set up a meeting in which the main groups that take part in the digital sector of the country can discuss the same questions at the same venue, and in which policy makers and practitioners can hear the views of each other.
The discussions will focus on three connected areas. The first is building skills and capability, which concerns the training of people so that they can work with AI. The second is enabling responsible and trusted AI adoption, which deals with the conditions under which organizations and the public can use AI with confidence. The third is improving the digital infrastructure and access that are needed for AI opportunities to reach more people and communities across Pakistan, since the benefits of AI depend on connectivity and on the availability of the systems that support it.
The title of the event places capability, policy and infrastructure side by side, and the description of the programme links these to the aim of inclusive digital development. The listing does not name speakers or give a detailed agenda, and it does not provide a registration link, so interested participants are directed to the event page of the APNIC Foundation for further information. With around 300 participants expected in Islamabad on November 25, the event is intended to give government, industry and academia a shared platform to discuss how AI can contribute to digital development in Pakistan.
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