Google opened its first local office in Pakistan on Tuesday, marking a significant expansion of the technology giant’s presence in the country as Islamabad pushes to grow its information technology exports to 30 billion dollars a year. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif inaugurated the office during a meeting with a nine-member Google delegation led by the company’s Vice President for Global Affairs and Public Policy, Wilson White, at the Prime Minister’s Office in Islamabad. US Chargé d’Affaires Natalie Baker also attended the meeting, along with Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja and other senior government officials.

The office launch comes as Pakistan accelerates efforts to expand its digital economy, with the government prioritising technology-driven growth, digital infrastructure development and a larger role for the private sector in boosting exports. Islamabad has set an ambitious target of raising annual IT and IT-enabled services exports to 30 billion dollars, with officials pointing to investment in startups, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, digital skills training and improved connectivity as the main levers for reaching that goal.

Addressing the ceremony, White said Google’s decision to open a local office represented a major milestone after more than a decade of investment in the country, and that the company’s goals aligned closely with the prime minister’s ambition of turning Pakistan into a 30 billion dollar IT export hub. He said Google’s activities in Pakistan over the past ten years had contributed to more than Rs3.9 trillion in economic activity for local businesses and households, supporting over 960,000 jobs, and described the new office as the beginning of a deeper phase of engagement rather than an endpoint. He outlined three areas the company intended to focus on going forward: investment in Pakistani talent, investment in hardware manufacturing and export infrastructure, and investment in local businesses.

Sharif welcomed the opening, calling it a significant step in strengthening Pakistan’s partnership with the global technology company and describing it as an early stage in a longer collaboration in a sector he called highly attractive for the country’s economic future. He said the government intended to use modern tools and technology to create opportunities for the country’s youth. The prime minister told the delegation that Pakistan is undergoing a major digital transformation of its governance and economy, and shared the government’s Digital Nation Pakistan vision, under which several initiatives to build out the national digital ecosystem are already at an advanced stage. He also reiterated the government’s commitment to upgrading IT infrastructure and briefed the delegation on ongoing programmes to train young people in IT and artificial intelligence. 

In an earlier meeting with the delegation, Sharif said that with Google’s local presence now established, high-impact programmes already underway in the country could be scaled up further. Officials said the new office would serve as a hub for Google’s operations, policy engagement and local programme management going forward.

The Islamabad office is not the only element of Google’s expanding footprint in the country. White also briefed the prime minister on the company’s satisfaction with an ongoing Chromebook assembly line established with local partners, noting strong potential for devices assembled in Pakistan to be exported to other markets in the region. The assembly line, based in Haripur in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has been developed with local partners including Tech Valley, the National Radio and Telecommunication Corporation, and Allied, and is targeting an annual output in the range of 500,000 to 600,000 Chromebook devices, with officials describing plans to supply local schools as well as export finished units to nearby international markets.

White further said Google recognised the scale of opportunity presented by Pakistan’s young population and was keen to expand upskilling programmes covering IT, artificial intelligence, gaming and related fields, building on training initiatives the company has run in the country over the past decade.

Tuesday’s inauguration was formalised with the unveiling of a commemorative plaque at the Prime Minister’s Office, an event officials described as a symbolic marker of the start of Google’s formal institutional presence in Pakistan. The federal IT ministry described the development as an important step in Pakistan’s positioning as a technology destination, while officials linked to the Special Investment Facilitation Council were also credited with supporting the process that led to the office’s opening.

The opening follows years of Google engagement with Pakistan through remote teams, developer programmes and partnerships with local businesses, but Tuesday’s ceremony marks the company’s first formal, on-the-ground office in the country. With the local office now operational, officials on both sides indicated that discussions would continue around expanding training programmes, supporting local hardware manufacturing, and deepening cooperation aimed at helping Pakistani businesses reach international markets as part of the government’s broader digital economy push.