Pakistan is set to enhance its exports of IT and IT-enabled services to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) in the next few months, increasing from $50 million to $100 million with the consistent penetration of major IT companies and their expanding footprint in the brotherly state.
The government of Saudi Arabia planned a mega $100 billion project for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and data infrastructure in November 2024, inviting companies worldwide to invest and participate in its development plan.
Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) Senior Vice Chairman (SVC) Muhammad Umair Nizam said Pakistani IT companies and the government also planned to prioritise their export strategy, including exploring the untapped potential of non-traditional and emerging markets such as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
"We doubled our exports to $50 million to the KSA last year, and now Pakistan's IT industry is also working aggressively to drive up exports of IT and IT-enabled services to the brotherly state manifold," he said.
In this regard, all stakeholders, including the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunications (MoITT), Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB), and P@SHA, are working on an aggressive strategy to provide a collaborative environment for Pakistan's IT companies to enhance their exports through various joint ventures and consortiums, he said.
Last year, several local IT companies took an active part in a major tech trade event and conferences in KSA. This year, local IT firmsrising by 20%-25%will participate in LEAP 2025 [Leadership, Engagement, Advancement, and Partnerships for 2025], which will be held from February 9-12 in Riyadh, KSA, with more than 1,000 Pakistani delegates attending the event.
The P@SHA SVC said, "We are expecting multiple business deals and Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) to be signed at LEAP this year, which will significantly impact the country's exports this year."
The Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia (MISA) has established a help desk to assist Pakistani companies in registering quickly and easily in Saudi Arabia. This help desk was created to streamline the registration processes, leading to the registration of over 100 Pakistani tech entities in the KSA market.
Headquartered in Riyadh, Pakistan also became a member of the Digital Cooperation Organisation (DCO) in 2024.
Saad Shah, an IT industry exporter in KSA, said that Pakistani companies should enhance their focus on the emerging Saudi market, as setting up companies in the brotherly state has become much easier than before.
He said Pakistani companies could explore various areas such as enterprise solutions, AI, cloud computing, and data centres to secure profitable projects from multinational, private, and public sector entities.
The LEAP 2025 programme presents a significant opportunity for IT companies to exponentially increase their export revenue, not only in KSA but across the entire Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, he said.
LEAP is one of the major tech events, with over 1,800 tech brands and 170,000 visitors expected to attend this year in Riyadh.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ