ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif today officially inaugurated Google’s office in Pakistan, marking a major milestone for the nation’s rapidly growing digital ecosystem.
The inauguration ceremony took place at Prime Minister House in Islamabad, attended by key federal ministers, top officials, and a senior delegation from Google led by Vice President for Government Affairs and Public Policy Wilson White.
During the event, Prime Minister Sharif and Google representatives unveiled a commemorative plaque to celebrate this historic chapter in Pakistan’s digital journey.
“We are opening Google’s office in Pakistan because we believe deeply in the country’s digital future and its talent,” said Farhan Qureshi, Cluster Director for Google Pakistan, the Philippines, and Thailand. “This local presence deepens our commitment to accelerate Pakistan’s digital transformation, building on years of partnerships and initiatives to create long-term opportunities. Coupled with the Chromebook assembly line established by local partners, this footprint reinforces Pakistan’s goal of becoming a regional technology and export hub while driving high-value, AI-powered growth nationwide.”
Building a Future Forward Pakistan
Google’s presence in Pakistan is built on a long-standing commitment to its people and digital economy through partnerships and initiatives around upskilling and talent development, developer growth, local Chromebooks assembly line, and digital literacy. Key milestones include:
● Digital skilling: Partnered with the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication to expand digital and AI skilling, accelerate startup and gaming industry growth, and deploy helpful, localized AI tools. Since 2022, Google has awarded 350,000 Career Certificate scholarships, with over 80 percent of graduates reporting a new job or business growth within six months of completion.
● Developer growth: Reached 300,000 developers via Google Developer Groups. The AI Seekho program has successfully upskilled 50,000 developers in GenAI and Google Cloud technologies.
● Gaming & apps ecosystem: Through Think Apps and App Design Masterclasses, Google has empowered 120 local gaming and app studios building some of the world’s most downloaded apps.
● Local Chromebook assembly line: Google, Tech Valley, Allied, and the National Radio and Telecommunication Corporation launched a local Chromebook assembly line to produce 500,000 devices, boosting education, job creation and hardware exports.
● Online safety and digital literacy: Through the Digital Safar initiative, Google has trained over 300,000 students and 5,000 educators in digital citizenship, integrating Be Internet Awesome with Gemini Academy.
Google’s upskilling initiatives have equipped over one million teachers, students, developers, and creators with vital digital skills. Google’s products and programs supported PKR 3.9 trillion of economic benefits for Pakistani businesses and households, sustaining 965,000 jobs .
With an office now established, Google’s focus turns to scaling these high-impact programs alongside government and digital ecosystem partners. Google’s vision for the country remains clear: to help build a Future Forward Pakistan that is prosperous, AI-powered, and full of opportunity.
About Google
Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. Through products and platforms like Search, Maps, Gmail, Android, Google Play, Chrome and YouTube, Google plays a meaningful role in the daily lives of billions of people and has become one of the most widely-known companies in the world. Google is a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc.
