Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday met with a nine-member Google delegation as part of the tech giant’s inauguration ceremony for its local office in Pakistan.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony held at the Prime Minister’s House in Islamabad, the premier noted that there was great scope to enhance the partnership with Google “in many ways”, adding that it was interesting and a “sheer coincidence” that Google was here at a time when Pakistan was going through a “major digital transformation” in many areas of governance.

Chargé d’Affaires of the US Embassy in Islamabad, Natalie Baker, and Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication, Shaza Fatima Khawaja, were also present during the unveiling of the foundation plaque of the Google Pakistan office.

The premier noted that Pakistan is undergoing a massive digital transformation process, including digitisation of government affairs and the economy and briefed the delegation on the government’s vision of “Digital Nation Pakistan”.

He reiterated the government’s commitment to modernise IT infrastructure and briefed the delegation about ongoing programs to train the youth in IT and Artificial Intelligence.

“We have a youth bulge, and we can really turn around Pakistan’s fortunes, and we are doing a lot, but a lot more is required to be done,” he added.

PM Shehbaz noted that today was a “great day for our partnership” and a “stepping stone to a long journey” of contributing to a field which was the call of the day. “We will empower our youth through modern tools and technology, and I am thankful to you for visiting Pakistan. I hope that today’s visit will translate into dozens of such visits every year,” he added.

Google Vice President of Government Affairs and Public Policy Wilson L. White thanked the premier and said the company had been investing in and committed to Pakistan for over a decade, adding that to be able to open a local office was a “special moment for us”.

“Your ambition of making Pakistan a 30-billion-dollar IT export hub aligns with the goals that we have at Google,” White added.

He stated that over the past ten years, “Google has contributed to more than Rs3.9 trillion of economic activity for local Pakistani businesses as well as households in Pakistan, contributing to over 960,000 jobs, and this is just the beginning.”

Read: Google begins manufacturing Chromebooks in Haripur

He added that the company was furthering Pakistan’s goal of the $30 billion IT export ambition in three ways: “by investing in the Pakistani people, by investing in the manufacturing and infrastructure of exports of hardware and by investing in local businesses”.

White said the digital transformation that was underway in Pakistan would only be successful if the people were properly invested in.

“One of the things that we have been doing is upskilling Pakistanis. We have contributed to the upskilling of one million Pakistanis through career certificates and working with schools and teachers to make sure that Pakistanis are prepared for the digital economy that is on its way,” the vice president stated.

He expressed satisfaction over the Chromebook assembly line set up by Google with local partners, adding that there is a “huge potential” for exporting Chromebooks assembled in Pakistan to other countries in the region.

White further said that later this week, the tech giant would announce that it would make Google Gemini subscriptions free for one year for all students.

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In November 2025, Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja had said Google would manufacture approximately 600,000 Chromebooks annually in Pakistan, marking a major milestone for the country’s technology sector.

Khawaja revealed that Google, in collaboration with the Ministry of Defence Production and the National Radio and Telecommunication Corporation, had begun Chromebook manufacturing in Haripur. Launched as a public-private partnership with a local company, the project was expected to significantly boost Pakistan’s IT manufacturing industry.