Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal has urged Shanghai Cooperation Organization countries to establish interconnected tech corridors to boost trade, sovereign AI capability, and cross-border commerce.

He was addressing the 2026 Shanghai Cooperation Organization Digital Economy Forum in Urumqi today.

The Minister said Pakistan is executing a massive broadband expansion, scaling fiber-optic connections from three million to over five million, with an immediate target to bring high-speed wired broadband to 10 million households. He added that with Pakistan's IT and ICT exports reaching an all-time high of 4.6 billion dollars in the last fiscal year.

Ahsan Iqbal said Pakistan is moving beyond exporting traditional IT services toward developing proprietary tech products, building robust digital platforms, and fostering tech-driven manufacturing.