Huawei asked to set up R&D centre

Describing the model as "exports without shipping containers," she said Pakistani professionals were increasingly delivering high-value digital services to international markets from within the country. She highlighted Pakistan's young workforce, noting that around 68% of the population was under the age of 30, and emphasised the need to translate the demographic strength into skilled human capital and global economic opportunities.

Recalling Huawei Pakistan's training partnership agreed during the prime minister's visit to China, Shaza Fatima appreciated Huawei's commitment to train 300,000 young Pakistanis in ICT skills. She stressed stronger collaboration among government, industry and academia to build a sustainable technology talent pipeline and connect young Pakistanis with international opportunities.

The minister appreciated Huawei's contribution to technical capacity building through its ICT Academies and encouraged the company to further expand investment, knowledge transfer, mentoring and explore opportunities for establishing an R&D centre in Pakistan.

Interacting with women engineers at the centre, the minister appreciated their contribution to Pakistan's digital economy and underscored the importance of creating greater opportunities for women in the technology sector.

Speaking on the occasion, Ethan Sun said Huawei was proud to contribute to Pakistan's digital development by strengthening local technical expertise and creating opportunities for Pakistani professionals to participate in the global digital economy. The centre serves as a hub for global technology operations, providing remote technical support, network operations, service assurance and other advanced ICT services to international customers.