Pakistan’s IT minister has officially called on Huawei to set up a Huawei R&D centre in Pakistan, pushing the Chinese tech giant to move well beyond its current role as a telecom equipment supplier and skills trainer. The request signals a clear step-up in what Islamabad now wants from one of its biggest tech partners.
What Happened at the Huawei Global Service Centre Visit
Huawei’s presence in Pakistan has been growing fast, and the government now wants it to grow even faster. Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja visited Huawei’s Global Service Centre (GSC) in Islamabad, where she received a full briefing on its operations, walked through the facility, and spent time with young Pakistani engineers who support Huawei’s global ICT work from inside the country.
She was received by Ethan Sun, CEO of Huawei Pakistan, and Ahmed Bilal Masud, CEO of AI and Cloud at Huawei Pakistan, along with senior GSC management. During the visit, she encouraged Huawei to expand investment, deepen knowledge transfer, and actively explore setting up a Huawei R&D centre in Pakistan.
Why an R&D Centre Is a Bigger Ask Than a Repair Centre
There is an important difference between what Huawei currently does in Pakistan and what the minister is now asking for. Huawei’s GSC in Islamabad provides remote technical support, network operations, service assurance, and advanced ICT services to customers around the world. That is delivery work. A repair centre, which Huawei also just opened in Islamabad, fixes and tests telecom hardware locally instead of sending it overseas.
An R&D centre is a different thing altogether. It means local engineers would not just deliver or fix technology, but actually help build it. They would work on new products, test new solutions, and contribute to Huawei’s global research pipeline. That kind of facility creates higher-skill jobs, keeps more intellectual output inside Pakistan, and gives local universities and engineers a real connection to frontier technology work.
The “Exports Without Shipping Containers” Vision
The minister used a memorable phrase to describe what Pakistan’s tech services sector already offers: she called it “exports without shipping containers.” The idea is that Pakistani engineers, sitting in Islamabad or Lahore, can deliver high-value digital services to international markets without a single physical product crossing a border. The GSC model is a live example of this.
The minister said the GSC showed Pakistan’s growing potential as a global hub for technology and IT-enabled services. The push for a Huawei R&D centre in Pakistan is the next logical step: if Pakistani talent can already support global operations, it should also be helping to create the technology that those operations run on.
The 300,000-Trainee Commitment and What Comes Next
The minister also recalled a training partnership that was agreed during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to China, under which Huawei committed to training 300,000 young Pakistanis in ICT skills. She praised Huawei’s ICT Academy network for contributing to this goal and called for stronger links between government, industry, and universities to build a lasting tech talent pipeline.
Ethan Sun, for his part, said Huawei was proud to support Pakistan’s digital growth by strengthening local technical expertise and creating paths for Pakistani professionals to join the global digital economy. He did not commit to the R&D centre request on the spot, but the minister’s public call puts it firmly on the agenda.
The minister also took time to speak with women engineers at the centre, stressing that creating more opportunities for women in technology was a priority for Pakistan’s digital economy strategy.
Why This Matters for Pakistan’s Tech Sector
Pakistan’s IT ministry has set an ambitious course: the country wants to move from being a buyer of technology to being a builder and exporter of it. That shift requires more than repair centres and training programmes. It needs research, innovation, and the kind of deep technical collaboration that only comes when a global company plants real R&D roots in a country.
If Huawei agrees to set up an R&D centre, it would join a short list of global tech firms with genuine research operations on Pakistani soil. That would have knock-on effects for universities, for engineering graduates, and for Pakistan’s ability to attract similar commitments from other companies. For Pakistani tech professionals, it could mean working on problems at the cutting edge of 5G, AI, and cloud infrastructure, not just supporting systems built elsewhere. Learn more about Huawei’s global technology programmes and how they connect to local markets.
The recently opened Huawei national telecom repair centre in Islamabad, which can handle over 180 equipment types across wireless, microwave, digital power, and access network technologies, shows that Huawei is willing to build local capacity in Pakistan. The R&D ask is a bigger commitment, but the groundwork is being laid step by step. For context on Pakistan’s broader tech ambitions, the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication continues to push for deeper foreign tech investment.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Pakistan’s IT minister ask Huawei to do?
Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja asked Huawei to explore setting up a research and development (R&D) centre in Pakistan. She made the request during a visit to Huawei’s Global Service Centre in Islamabad on 29 September 2026.
What is Huawei’s Global Service Centre in Islamabad?
It is a facility where Pakistani engineers provide remote technical support, network operations, and advanced ICT services to Huawei’s customers around the world. It already acts as a small-scale example of Pakistan exporting digital services without physical goods crossing borders.
How is an R&D centre different from the repair centre Huawei already opened?
The repair centre, opened on 24 September 2026, fixes and tests Huawei telecom equipment used in Pakistan’s networks. An R&D centre would go further, with engineers developing new technology and contributing to Huawei’s global product and research pipeline. It is a higher-skill and higher-value type of investment.
How many Pakistanis has Huawei committed to train in ICT skills?
Huawei has committed to training 300,000 young Pakistanis in ICT skills, a partnership agreed during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to China. This training is delivered through Huawei’s ICT Academies operating across Pakistan.
