Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Professor Ahsan Iqbal, has called upon overseas Pakistanis to place "Pakistan First" above all political differences and unite under one national identity to contribute to the country's economic transformation.

Addressing a ceremony in honour of the Pakistani community during his visit to Northern California, he emphasized that Pakistan's future prosperity depends on economic self-reliance driven by exports, innovation, technology, and human capital development.

He said the Government's URAAN Pakistan initiative is steering the country towards becoming a knowledge-based, technology-driven, and sustainable economy, with an ambitious target of transforming Pakistan into a one-trillion-dollar economy by 2035 and increasing exports to over US$100 billion.

He urged overseas Pakistanis to serve as ambassadors of Pakistan's exports by promoting investment, technology transfer, entrepreneurship, and international business linkages.

He said that the United States remains Pakistan's largest export market, making the Pakistani-American community an important bridge for expanding bilateral trade and investment.

The Minister underscored that E-Pakistan is a national priority and described Artificial Intelligence as a historic opportunity for Pakistan. He informed participants that the Government is establishing National Centres of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence, Cyber Security, Big Data, Robotics, Genomics, and Quantum Computing to prepare Pakistan for the next technological revolution.

He further highlighted the ongoing US-Pakistan Knowledge Corridor initiative, aimed at developing world-class human capital through partnerships with leading international universities.

During his engagements in Northern California, the Federal Minister also participated in an AI and technology interaction with leading Silicon Valley professionals and attended a dinner reception hosted by members of the Pakistani-American community.

Members of the Pakistani community reaffirmed their commitment to supporting Pakistan's economic transformation through investment, knowledge exchange, and technology collaboration, while strongly endorsing the Minister's message of "Pakistan First" and pledging to contribute to the national mission of URAAN Pakistan.