Pakistan plans indigenous AI platform to secure government trade data

Pakistan is working on an integrated, secure and AI-powered digital system for the Ministry of Commerce aimed at protecting government trade data and improving evidence-based policymaking.

 

Federal Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan directed the initiative during meetings with the Pakistan Digital Authority (PDA) and Sky47. The discussions focused on treating government data as a national asset while strengthening sovereign cloud, data-centre and cybersecurity infrastructure.

 

The proposed system would consolidate information on tariff lines, exporters, international markets, trade bodies, chambers and Pakistan’s trade missions in more than 55 countries. The government also plans to establish secure and traceable mechanisms for sharing relevant data between departments without unnecessarily transferring complete datasets.

 

The minister highlighted the potential for an indigenous AI platform trained on authorised government and sector specific data to analyse trade trends, identify export opportunities and generate market-specific policy recommendations.

 

Discussions with Sky47 also covered expanding Pakistan’s domestic data-centre capacity, disaster recovery, energy efficient infrastructure, intelligent storage and computing requirements for AI and future technologies.

 

The government is additionally considering reforms to public-sector technology procurement to make it easier for departments to acquire cloud infrastructure, platforms and software as services.

 

Another proposal under discussion is an Open Network for Digital Commerce that could connect producers, exporters, logistics providers, financial institutions and consumers while improving market access for SMEs.

 

Jam Kamal also raised concerns over officials using foreign AI platforms for confidential government work, calling for stronger guidelines and secure domestic alternatives to prevent sensitive information from being transferred to unauthorised external systems.

 

The initiative is intended to strengthen data sovereignty, trade intelligence, digital commerce and cybersecurity, while supporting Pakistan’s broader digital transformation and export-growth objectives.