A More Digitalized Pakistan Is Needed To Upgrade CPEC 2.0: CIFTIS

“As an AI software company, we are committed to providing consulting and BPO to Chinese partners who want to support customers in other parts of the world,” said Shahid Islam, founder and CEO of Digitalsofts, an IT service provider with branches in the UK and the Middle East in addition to Pakistan, during the 2025 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS)

BEIJING, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 11th Sep, 2025) “As an AI software company, we are committed to providing consulting and BPO to Chinese partners who want to support customers in other parts of the world,” said Shahid Islam, founder and CEO of Digitalsofts, an IT service provider with branches in the UK and the middle East in addition to Pakistan, during the 2025 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS).

“A week ago, our embassy in Beijing organized a B2B investment fair special event in the ICT field, with many representatives of Pakistani digital enterprises, including us, attended the meeting. I believe it is indispensable for upgrading the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor 2.0, also known as the digital corridor.” The CEO noted that Digitalsofts has just signed a memorandum of understanding with Ucloud and Inspir Software under the leadership of Minister of IT and Telecom Pakistan, Shaza Fatima Khawaja.

During this year’s CIFTIS, a total of 15 leading IT & services companies is debuting at the Pakistan pavilion, the digital Pakistan.

“I’m from Trio Communication, which is working onto the digital marketing, social media, as well as AI tools. Since opening in 2017, our business has expanded to multiple countries. Now we are visiting China for the second time, to see how we could work together and move on to the next level,” Tariq Muhammad, who was negotiating with potential partners, told CEN.

“Pakistan’s digitalization is reaching new heights. Our business is expanding, and our product line is constantly enriching,” Tariq said with confidence. “The increasing adoption of artificial intelligence could generate more profits and create more jobs.

Is China a top player in AI field? Of course, that’s also why we are here. If our two countries can cooperate on a deeper and closer digital platform, we will definitely achieve our goals faster.” So, what about more specific measures? “For Pakistani companies, we face challenges in establishing high-level AI data centers, and the advanced technology of our Chinese partners could provide us with support. For Chinese counterparts, it may be difficult to expand their network overseas. Our large number of employees who are proficient in local culture and customs can provide effective support to Chinese companies that already have customers in the Middle East and Western countries. Many of these young talents have also studied Chinese in your universities, thus they are the most suitable people to build bridges between our two countries,” Shahid islam added.

In recent years, Pakistan has demonstrated outstanding affordability in ICT services, being ranked among the top countries by the World Economic Forum (WEF). Its workforce operates in double shifts, saving multinational companies up to 70% in operating costs.

As the largest partner in digital industry infrastructure, China has long been committed to working with Pakistan to promote the digital transformation of the CPEC. Over the past decade, China’s digital trade exports to Pakistan have reached USD 361.7 billion. Meanwhile, China’s DTMB standard for terrestrial digital television transmission has been successfully implemented in Pakistan, and the China-Pakistan cross-border optical cable project has been fully operational.

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