China will provide IT training to 200,000 Pakistani youths, says planning minister
\nISLAMABAD
\nMinister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal on Friday said the final draft of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) policy would be presented to the Federal Cabinet for approval in August.
\nAddressing a meeting of the Special Task Force on Artificial Intelligence, he directed the quarters concerned to complete the consultation process with all stakeholders as soon as possible, according to a news release.
\nHe highlighted the importance of AI in the modern era, saying \u201cArtificial intelligence is not the future but the present reality in the world,\u201d and highlighted it as an essential tool for advancement in multiple fields.
\nThe minister recalled that it was the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government that established the National Center for Artificial Intelligence in 2017 and the National Task Force on Artificial Intelligence in 2023. \u201cWe have created National Centers for Excellence in Advanced Technologies under Vision 2025 and linked each centre to engineering labs in eight to ten universities,\u201d he added.
\nHad these centres not been established on time, Ahsan Iqbal said the country would have been left far behind in this field.
\nHe noted that in the past, inconsistencies in various policies had hindered development activities and the uplift of the national economy. Under a conspiracy, he said, the nation\u2019s self-confidence had been eroded, with some elements causing serious damage to its image abroad, contrary to the true depiction of an intelligent and hardworking nation.
\nWhenever Pakistan\u2019s economic progress began to gain momentum, he said, some elements appeared to obstruct it. Now, he added, with the initiation of the second phase of the Pakistan-China Economic Corridor (CPEC), the \u201ccharacters of riot and anarchy\u201d were active once again.
\nDuring Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif\u2019s recent visit to China, the minister said the brotherly country pledged to provide IT training to 200,000 Pakistani youth, equipping them with the skills needed to meet modern challenges.
\nHe said the world was developing rapidly in various aspects of artificial intelligence, and Pakistan has to catch it pace.
\nHe noted that some countries were not granting visas to Pakistani students for education in modern technology, but \u201cwe will obtain modern technology at any cost.\u201d
\nHe asked to share recommendations from the task force with the provinces; expressing confidence that artificial intelligence would lead to revolutionary health, education, finance and agriculture results.
\nAhsan Iqbal announced that experts from across Pakistan would be invited to participate in a National Conference on
\nArtificial Intelligence, which will be organised soon. \u201cPakistan will emerge as an IT and information power in the world.\u201d
\nHe questioned why Pakistani youth could not develop successful platforms like social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
China will provide IT training to 200,000 Pakistani youths, says planning minister ISLAMABAD Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal on Friday said the final draft of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) policy would be presented to the Federal Cabinet for approval in August. Addressing a meeting of the Special Task Force on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":396639,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-421000","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business"},"yoast_head":"\n