Riyadh-based digital bloc says Pakistan's 2026 presidency to boost country's global tech standing
ISLAMABAD: The Secretary-General of the Riyadh-based Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO), Deemah AlYahya, said on Tuesday Pakistan's forthcoming presidency of the multilateral body was part of ongoing efforts to position the country as a regional and global digital leader.
Founded in November 2020, the DCO is an intergovernmental organization aimed at accelerating digital transformation and encouraging collaboration among member states. The organization's founding members include Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait and Pakistan, with Nigeria and Oman joining shortly thereafter. Pakistan is scheduled to assume the DCO presidency in 2026, following Kuwait's term in 2025.
AlYahya, a Saudi digital economy expert and the organization's Secretary-General since April 2021, is responsible for engaging with heads of state, ministers and private sector leaders to bridge digital divides across member nations. She is currently in Islamabad for a two-day Digital Foreign Direct Investment (DFDI) summit, organized by Pakistan's Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication in collaboration with the DCO.
The event has attracted over 400 delegates and more than 200 IT and telecom companies from over 30 countries.
'The presidency of Pakistan that is planned for 2026 for DCO is a continuous effort for positioning Pakistan as the digital powerhouse for the region and for the globe as well,' the DCO secretary-general told Arab News in an exclusive conversation on the sidelines of the forum in Islamabad.
She said Pakistan's leadership role would not only benefit the country in terms of infrastructure and technological advancement but also put it in a position where it will be able to support other countries to grow as well.
'The DCO is working to open markets for enterprises across all member states, enabling smooth and healthy cross-border collaboration, so Pakistan will have a leading role in making such kind of advancement happen,' she added.
AlYahya said that seeing the youth and the growth in Pakistan's digital sector gave her a great sense of optimism.
'It gives us a lot of motivation to put hands in hands with all our member countries and utilize the amazing advancement in each and every country,' she added.
She noted that DCO believed every country had a unique competitive advantage that can help address challenges faced by others, adding it was her organization's role to identify these imperatives, strengths and areas for improvement.
'The Digital FDI event here in Pakistan … is one example of how can we explore the competitive advantage of the great infrastructure, youth, talent, the advancement in software and hardware here in Pakistan and attract the private sector to harness these opportunities in the land of Pakistan,' she added.
Pakistan's IT exports reached a record $3.2 billion in FY2024, reflecting a 24 percent increase from the previous year, according to the State Bank of Pakistan. In the first half of the current fiscal year (FY2025), exports rose further to $1.86 billion, up 28 percent year-on-year, with monthly figures averaging around $310 million.
This growth trajectory is underpinned by a number of factors, including an expanding global client base, particularly in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. Pakistan is now aiming to cross the $4 billion mark in IT exports by the end of FY2025.
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