Advisor to the Punjab Chief Minister Ali Dar held bilateral meetings in Seoul on the sidelines of the Global AI and Digital Summit 2026, where he shared Punjab AI Vision 2029 with senior officials of the World Bank Group. The meetings were announced by The Office of AI in Punjab. Ali Dar met Ousmane Dione, Regional Vice President of The World Bank Group for the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan (MENAAP), and Michel Rogy, Regional Program Director for Digital and Artificial Intelligence (AI). The discussions gave the province an opportunity to present its AI plans to officials of an institution that works with governments on development and technology.
The summit in Seoul is hosted by the World Bank Group together with the Ministry of Finance and Economy and the Ministry of Science and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) of the Republic of Korea. It brings together governments, development partners, private sector leaders, researchers, civil society and young people to look at how AI and digital technologies can deliver practical development gains. The organizers have said that the event also highlights responsible AI that builds trust, and that it covers sectors such as agriculture, health, education, tourism and government services, where AI and digital tools are expected to help countries turn innovation into results.
Punjab AI Vision 2029 is the plan of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif to make Punjab the most AI enabled province in South Asia by 2029. It rests on six strategic pillars, which are designed to bring AI into governance, public service delivery and the overall performance of institutions, although the details of each pillar have not been described publicly. The Office of AI has also established an AI enabled Delivery Unit, which officials have described as the first of its kind in the world, and which is meant to speed up priority government initiatives through data driven monitoring and AI. The Chief Minister has directed that work on the agenda continues at pace.
The Office of AI shared news of the meetings with hashtags that include AIEnabledDelivery, PunjabAI and AIVision2029. The meetings with Dione and Rogy are part of the effort of the office to engage with international organizations on its plans, and Ali Dar has held other meetings with partners on the sidelines of the summit in recent days. By sharing the vision with the regional leadership of the World Bank Group for digital and AI, Punjab has put its AI programme before the officials who oversee digital and AI work for the region, as the province continues to move towards its 2029 target.
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