ISLAMABAD: Pakistani technology companies seeking to expand into Saudi Arabia were offered investment, partnerships and local support by expatriate business leaders and professionals at a networking event in Riyadh, according to a statement on Friday, as Pakistan looks to the fast-growing Gulf market to boost its record IT exports.
The Pakistan Tech Meetup was held on the sidelines of LEAP 2026, Saudi Arabia’s flagship technology and innovation conference, which ran from Aug. 31 to Sept. 3 and brought together more than 1,800 technology brands, 600 startups and 1,900 investors. Pakistan sent a business delegation to the event, where IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja inaugurated the country’s pavilion and delivered a keynote address on its digital transformation.
The meetup was hosted by Majlis-e-Pakistan, a Riyadh-based Pakistani professional forum, according to a statement issued by Hexalyze, a Pakistani IT company with operations in Saudi Arabia. More than 50 IT companies attended the event.
“The Pakistani technology and business community in Saudi Arabia is committed to providing strategic support to Pakistani IT companies and startups in establishing operations, accessing financing and raising funds,” Majlis-e-Pakistan Patron-in-Chief Saqib Zubair said.
He said the community would support Pakistani delegates attending LEAP in exploring business and investment opportunities across sectors of the Saudi economy.
“This mutual cooperation can help expand trade and business ties between the two brotherly countries across multiple sectors,” Zubair added.
Saudi Arabia has emerged as an increasingly important market for technology companies as the Kingdom pours investments into digital infrastructure, artificial intelligence and other sectors under its Vision 2030 economic diversification program.
Nearly $15 billion in investments, agreements and other commitments covering AI infrastructure, data centers, cloud computing, technology manufacturing and venture capital were announced during this year’s LEAP, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
Pakistan is simultaneously seeking to expand its technology exports, which reached a record $4.6 billion in the fiscal year that ended in June, according to the Pakistan IT Industry Association (P@SHA).
Saad Shah, an IT exporter and chief executive of Hexalyze, said Pakistani technology companies had significant opportunities to expand their offshore operations in Gulf markets, particularly Saudi Arabia.
He said partnerships with Pakistani businesses already established in the Kingdom could help new entrants navigate the market and avoid some of the costs and difficulties associated with setting up operations in an unfamiliar country.
P@SHA Chairman Sajjad Syed said the growing number of Pakistani IT companies and startups establishing subsidiaries and offshore offices in Saudi Arabia was a positive development for Pakistan’s technology industry and exports.
Pakistan’s participation at LEAP remained strong this year.
The country’s IT minister highlighted the expansion of digital infrastructure and measures aimed at improving the competitiveness of its technology industry in her address amid Islamabad’s efforts to attract greater foreign investment and expand access to international markets.