Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to work together in the field of information technology (IT).

The agreement was signed by the Caretaker IT Minister of Pakistan, Umar Saif, and his Saudi counterpart, Abdullah A Al-Sawahah, in Riyadh on Sunday.

It aims to facilitate Pakistani companies to work in Saudi Arabia, provide trained IT manpower to Saudi companies, promote joint ventures with Saudi firms, and establish a startup exchange program with top Saudi tech incubators.

Pakistan has signed an MoU with the Ministry of Communication & IT in Saudia. This will facilitate Pakistani companies to work in KSA, provide trained IT manpower to Saudi companies, promote joint ventures with Saudi companies and establish a startup exchange program with the top… pic.twitter.com/LrWzNbSH6A
— Umar Saif (@umarsaif) October 1, 2023

The MoU also includes a bilateral commitment to the digital economy. Both sides agreed to promote the private sector apart from the government level.

Strategic cooperation

The MoU also outlines a number of strategic areas of cooperation, including:

Setting up a chip manufacturing industry in Pakistan: This would be a major boost to Pakistan's IT sector, and would help to reduce the country's reliance on imported chips.
Working on electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries, agriculture technology, and mining technologies: These are all areas where Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have complementary strengths, and cooperation in these areas could lead to the development of new products and services that would benefit both countries.

Special desk for Pakistani IT companies

The interim IT minister of Pakistan, Umar Saif, has also announced that he has met with the Saudi minister of investment, H.E. Khalid al-Falih, who has instructed the Ministry of Investment to establish a special desk for Pakistani IT companies to get registered in Saudi Arabia and to grant licenses (CR) to operate in the kingdom.

This desk will also work with Pakistan's IT industry to offer business opportunities in the public and private sector of Saudi Arabia.

Investment Fund for Pakistani startups

Saif also said that he has set up meetings with the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) to explore the possibility of participating in the VC fund-of-funds for Pakistani startups.

Incredibly productive meeting with the Saudi Minister of Investment (MISA). Cannot thank the Minister H.E. Khalid al-Falih enough for his warmth and support. He has instructed MISA to establish a special desk for Pakistani IT companies to get registered in KSA and to grant… pic.twitter.com/AzuTxzmnvq
— Umar Saif (@umarsaif) October 1, 2023

"Incredibly productive meeting with the Saudi Minister of Investment (MISA). Cannot thank the Minister H.E. Khalid al-Falih enough for his warmth and support. He has instructed MISA to establish a special desk for Pakistani IT companies to get registered in KSA and to grant licenses (CR) to operate in KSA," he wrote in a post on X.

The minister also wrote, "Ordinarily, thus process would take months and over 100,000 Riyals of consulting fees. This was the number one demand of our IT companies. This desk will also work with our IT industry to offer business opportunists in the public and private sector KSA. The Minister also setup meetings with the Saudi Investment Fund (PIF) to explore the possibility of participating in our VC fund-of-funds for Pakistani startups."

This would be a significant boost to Pakistan's startup ecosystem and would help to attract more investment into Pakistani startups.