A delegation from the U.S. Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) and South and Central Asian Affairs (SCA), including Sherry Keneson-Hall (Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary), Shelly Seaver (Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary, SCA), Caitlin Meyers (Special Assistant, ECA), Andrew Halus (Minister Counselor for Public Diplomacy), Alexander Noppe (Deputy Director for Public Engagement), Katherine (Katie) Smith (Public Diplomacy Officer), and Umar Farooq (Chief Executive Officer, Tech Valley Pakistan), called on the Federal Minister for Information Technology & Telecommunication, Shaza Fatima Khawaja. The meeting discussed avenues for expanding U.S. engagement in Pakistan’s digital transformation and technology-led growth, with a focus on cooperation in digital literacy, technical skills development, youth capacity building, and strengthening human capital within Pakistan’s growing digital ecosystem.
Federal Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja briefed the delegation that the Ministry of IT & Telecom, through PSEB, is rolling out large scale, future-focused skills initiatives to prepare Pakistani youth for the most advanced global technology markets. These include high-end training programs in 5G technologies, cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity, data analytics, and full-stack programming, fully aligned with global industry requirements, along with specialized certification tracks in Web Engineering, Cloud Infrastructure, and Artificial Intelligence. She further stated that Ignite’s nationwide digital upskilling efforts, highlighting that through DigiSkills, has trained 4.87 million+ learners in freelancing, digital marketing, e-commerce, and emerging technologies including AI, directly supporting youth employability and strengthening U.S. Pakistan economic linkages through global online work platforms such as Fiverr and Upwork. She also shared that Ignite’s “Code4AI” to train 7,500+ youth in Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, and Quantum Computing, creating opportunities for U.S. companies to remotely hire highly skilled Pakistani talent.
The Minister further highlighted that Ignite regularly organizes national cybersecurity hackathons, engaging thousands of students in ethical hacking, secure coding, and cyber-defense challenges, and proposed ECA collaboration for cross-border competitions, mentorship, and capacity building. She also shared that Ignite has launched the Center of Excellence for Gaming & Animation (CEGA) to build skills in animation, gaming, AR/VR, and digital content creation, with strong potential for joint training programs and trainer exchanges with U.S. institutions. Additionally, Ignite’s eight National Incubation Centers (NICs) have supported over 2,100 startups, generated PKR 33+ billion in revenue, attracted PKR 32+ billion in investment, and created 185,000+ jobs nationwide.
The U.S. delegation also briefed the Federal Minister on programs including Fulbright, IVLP, PFP, YES, TechWomen, TechGirls, and English Access & Virtual Exchanges, aimed at strengthening education, leadership, and innovation. Both sides agreed to further strengthen university partnerships with the United States, including U.S. professors delivering advanced technology trainings to Pakistani students, to deepen academic collaboration, talent development, and sustainable digital growth.
