Islamabad, (TW News) – Joining Pakistan’s Indus AI week, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in partnership with the Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, and the Pakistan Digital Authority (PDA), convened a high-level policy session titled “Shaping Pakistan’s Future with AI: Inclusive Development and Governance” to explore how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can strengthen public services, improve governance, and accelerate progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals. As part of “TECHdestiNATION Pakistan – Celebrating Innovation Across Pakistan Week”, the dialogue brought together experts to reflect on Pakistan’s readiness for AI-enabled development.

Opening the session, Dr. Samuel Rizk, UNDP Resident Representative in Pakistan, emphasized the need to place people, inclusion, and strong governance at the center of Pakistan’s AI transformation. “AI can transform development outcomes at scale, but because this progress is neither automatic nor guaranteed to be equitable, investing in inclusive design, strong institutions, ethical standards, and robust data governance is essential for responsible AI.”

Reflecting on digital transformation and human development, Professor Ahsan Iqbal, Minister of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives (MoPD&SI), stressed that human intelligence drives AI, and that closing the skills gap is key to economic growth and inclusion.

The dialogue reflected on how to build and maintain digital foundations for an AI-enabled state and Pakistan’s broader AI readiness needs, including the shift from isolated pilots toward integrated systems, strengthening institutional skills and coordination, and establishing clear governance frameworks. Mr. Amos Peters from UNDP Asia-Pacific also highlighted how uneven AI adoption risks widening development inequalities, drawing on insights from UNDP’s report “The Next Great Divergence.”

Consultations continued with an inter-ministerial session on “AI for Public Service Transformation and SDG Acceleration,” which formed the core of the dialogue and featured Minister for Planning, Professor Ahsan Iqbal; Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication, Ms. Shaza Fatima Khawaja; Minister for Finance, Mr. Muhammad Aurangzeb; and Minister for Climate Change and Environmental Coordination, Dr. Musadik Malik. The discussion explored how AI can strengthen service delivery, fiscal governance, climate planning, and data-driven policymaking, including the use of objective, outcome-based criteria to prioritize public allocations. Speakers underscored Pakistan’s efforts to use AI for fiscal efficiency, compliance-focused revenue systems, responsible financial innovation, and evidence-based planning through better use of existing platforms and diverse data sources.

Through this dialogue, UNDP reaffirmed its commitment to supporting Pakistan in using digital innovation to strengthen governance, reduce inequalities, and ensure AI delivers inclusive and sustainable development outcomes.