Pakistan Digital Authority hosted a high-level delegation from the Gates Foundation this week, led by Dr Ammar A Malik, Senior Program Officer and Pakistan Country Economist, along with representatives from Tabadlab, to explore collaboration on Pakistan’s digital public infrastructure and broader digital transformation agenda. The meeting was led by Pakistan Digital Authority Chairperson Dr Sohail Munir, alongside Members Mohammad J Sear and Aamer Rana, and Chief DPI Officer Dr Sahibzada Ali Mahmud.
During the meeting, Pakistan Digital Authority briefed the delegation on its mandate and priority initiatives, particularly digital public infrastructure, data exchange, data governance, AI safeguards, citizen centric service delivery, and the development of the National Digital Master Plan. The Gates Foundation, in turn, shared its own priorities across health, poverty alleviation, government capacity, digital infrastructure, development finance, and revenue mobilization, expressing clear interest in deepening its engagement with the authority.
The discussions identified five areas of potential cooperation between the two sides: digital health, social protection, data exchange and governance, public sector and revenue transformation, and citizen centric digital services. Of these, health and social protection were agreed as the initial areas of focus, underpinned by digital public infrastructure and trusted data exchange mechanisms.
Pakistan Digital Authority, the Gates Foundation, and Tabadlab will jointly develop an actionable collaboration proposal ahead of the Gates Foundation’s senior leadership visit to Pakistan scheduled for September 2026. The engagement adds to a series of recent meetings Pakistan Digital Authority has held with international organizations, including Meta on digital safety and artificial intelligence policy, reflecting the authority’s continued push to align its digital infrastructure priorities with global partners as it works to build out an inclusive and interoperable digital ecosystem for Pakistan.
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