A senior U.S. delegation including Sherry Keneson-Hall, Shelly Seaver, Caitlin Meyers, Andrew Halus, Alexander Noppe, Katherine Smith and Umar Farooq called on Federal Minister for Information Technology & Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja in Islamabad to discuss expanded cooperation on digital transformation and human capital development.
Minister Khawaja outlined the Ministry’s skills agenda delivered through PSEB and Ignite, stressing large-scale, future-focused programs designed to prepare Pakistani youth for global technology markets. She described high-end training tracks in 5G technologies, cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity, data analytics and full-stack programming, along with specialized certification pathways in Web Engineering, Cloud Infrastructure and Artificial Intelligence aligned to international industry requirements.
Ignite’s nationwide initiatives were highlighted as central to strengthening digital skills and youth employability, with DigiSkills having trained more than 4.87 million learners in freelancing, digital marketing, e-commerce and emerging technologies including AI, enabling access to global online work platforms. The Minister also noted Ignite’s Code4AI initiative training over 7,500 youth in Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain and Quantum Computing, which creates opportunities for U.S. companies to remotely hire highly skilled Pakistani talent.
The delegation was briefed on Ignite’s regular national cybersecurity hackathons that engage thousands of students in ethical hacking, secure coding and cyber defence challenges, and Minister Khawaja proposed collaboration with the U.S. Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs for cross-border competitions, mentorship and capacity building to deepen cybersecurity skills.
Ignite’s new Center of Excellence for Gaming & Animation aims to build competencies in animation, gaming, AR/VR and digital content creation, opening potential for joint training programs and trainer exchanges with U.S. institutions. The Minister also shared performance figures for Ignite’s eight National Incubation Centers, which have supported over 2,100 startups, generated more than PKR 33 billion in revenue, attracted over PKR 32 billion in investment and created in excess of 185,000 jobs nationwide.
The U.S. delegation outlined education and exchange programs including Fulbright, IVLP, PFP, YES, TechWomen, TechGirls and English Access and Virtual Exchanges aimed at strengthening education, leadership and innovation links. Both sides agreed to intensify university partnerships, including opportunities for U.S. professors to deliver advanced technology trainings to Pakistani students, to deepen academic collaboration, talent development and sustainable digital growth while reinforcing digital skills across the country.
