LAHORE – Pakistan’s biggest three-day tech conference and expo titled Future Fest will commence next month (Jan 6-8) with “historic” participation of a Saudi delegation.

The delegation comprising Saudi startups and venture capitalists will hold meetings with Pakistani firms and key stakeholders, besides exploring options of investment, partnership and talent recruitment, a press release from the organisers said on Wednesday.

The Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) is the official partner for the festival, which will be held at the Expo Centre Lahore. It is expected to be attended by 50,000 people, 200 exhibitors, 500 startups and 300 international speakers from different countries.

“The Saudi tech ecosystem is growing very fast. In Pakistan we have the talent and startups that can support this growth,” said Arzish Azam, CEO of Future Fest, said. “At Future Fest, we are proud to be the catalyst for this partnership and to provide a platform for greater collaboration and growth and indeed a new dimension to what is an already historic relationship between Pakistan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”

The Saudi startups and venture capitalists attending the event include Unifonic, Noon, Salasa, Mozn, Qoyod, [atm], Nana, AZM, Elm, AlGooru, Hala, Salla, Moyasar, Classera, Squadio, Nama Ventures, Merak Capital, Misk Foundation, Tracking.me, Diggipacks, Khwarizmi Ventures, Derayah Financial, ILSA Interactive, Takadao and senior representatives from the Digital Enablement Partner, Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO) and Invest Saudi.

“The digital economy, powered by innovation and technology, has recently, grown at an unprecedented rate, now becoming the backbone of our societies,” said Deemah AlYahya, DCO Secretary-General. “Pakistan is a founding member state of the DCO and with its thought leadership, and through opportunities like enabling Future Fest, we at DCO are strengthening the already solid relationship we have with Pakistan to bring prosperity to us all.”