Pakistan will establish new artificial intelligence, research and development, and skills training centres as part of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s plan to upgrade the country’s industrial and technological landscape, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Industries and Production Haroon Akhtar Khan said on Friday.
Khan chaired a meeting with the heads of the Technology Upgradation and Skill Development Company (TUSDEC) and the Pakistan Industrial Technical Assistance Centre (PITAC), where he assigned tasks including the creation of a Mining and Mineral Processing Technology Centre, a Women Digital Skills Development Centre, and an Artificial Intelligence and Digital Twin Centre, according to a press release.
Seafood processing and packaging plants, modern abattoirs, and meat processing facilities would also be set up across the country, he said, adding that institutions must learn from advanced international models to replicate modern skills and technologies in Pakistan.
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“I have seen advanced artificial intelligence institutes in developed countries. PITAC must learn from them and bring those skills to Pakistan,” Khan said.
“Artificial intelligence is progressing rapidly worldwide, and Pakistan must keep pace with this global transformation.”
He also cited Uzbekistan’s Techno Park, highlighting innovations such as solar water heaters and prepaid billing systems, as examples for Pakistan to follow.
Khan announced a research and development centre in Gujranwala to boost industrial innovation and growth. He praised PITAC’s introduction of modern skills and English language courses for students, calling them vital for competitiveness in the global job market.
He said he would personally meet and encourage PITAC students who had excelled in training programs, recognising their role in the country’s industrial and technological development.
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