At CAREC meet Pakistan proposes AI-led digitalisation of border processes

Planning minister Ahsan Iqbal used the CAREC Ministerial Conference to urge member states to align customs rules and apply artificial intelligence to border procedures across the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation bloc. Speaking to reporters, he argued that the region has spent enough time debating connectivity and now needs working trade corridors. According to Business Recorder, he also called for removing the delays that hold up cargo movement.

Pakistan put forward a CAREC Digital Corridor proposal and promoted AI as a tool to make trade and links quicker and more productive. Iqbal said the country's position, joining Central Asia, South Asia, China and the Arabian Sea, lets it use geo-economics to support cooperation, job creation and shared prosperity. He added that the region's future rests on joint platforms and new routes for investment.

Iqbal stressed that public budgets alone cannot produce the connectivity the region requires. He argued that involving private firms and public-private partnerships could speed investment in roads, railways, infrastructure and digital networks. Pakistan will host the next CAREC Conference in 2027 and intends to turn practical cooperation into trade and shared opportunity.