Pakistan and the World Bank have discussed cooperation in digital transformation, e-governance, and information technology (IT) infrastructure during a meeting between Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja and World Bank Vice President Ousmane Dione in South Korea.
According to Radio Pakistan, the discussions covered Pakistan’s digital economy and ways to improve the country’s IT infrastructure. The World Bank reaffirmed its commitment to providing continued technical and financial assistance to Pakistan, with a particular focus on expanding digital skills among young people and supporting the growth of the freelancing sector. Dione oversees the World Bank’s work across the Middle East and North Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, and the Bank lists access to critical infrastructure, including digital development, among the priorities for that region. The emphasis on digital skills and freelancing also fits with what the sector is already showing, as a separate report from Mettis Global noted that Pakistan’s IT exports grew 21 percent year on year to $435 million in September.
The meeting is not the first time the minister has discussed the digital economy with the Bank. In May 2024, when she was serving as Minister of State for IT and Telecommunication, she met a World Bank delegation in Islamabad to discuss the country’s digital transformation journey, connectivity, and the Digital Economy Enhancement Project (DEEP), and she said at the time that the government remained committed to digitalisation. This week’s talks took place in South Korea, which now hosts the Korea-World Bank Global Digital Knowledge Center, launched in December 2025 to help low and middle income countries pursue digital and artificial intelligence (AI) transformation. Separately, during her visit to Seoul, the minister visited the technology organisation DeltaX, where she held detailed discussions on advancing AI and digital marketing in Pakistan, adding a private sector angle to a trip that otherwise centred on development financing and policy.
The reports on the meeting do not mention specific funding amounts, new projects, or timelines, so the practical outcome of the World Bank’s reaffirmed commitment will depend on how the discussions translate into programmes in the coming months. For now, the focus areas are clear: building the skills of young people so they can compete for digital work, supporting freelancers who are already bringing foreign income into the country, and improving the IT infrastructure and e-governance systems that underpin both public services and the wider digital economy. With the government pursuing its digital agenda and development partners signalling continued backing, the talks in South Korea add another step to an ongoing conversation about how Pakistan can expand its digital economy and ensure that more of its young workforce is able to benefit from it.
Follow the SPIN IDG WhatsApp Channel for updates across the Smart Pakistan Insights Network covering all of Pakistan’s technology ecosystem.
