The Internet has become a critical enabler of social and economic change creating a new wave of innovation and development. Internet firms now compete with offline incumbents in banking, insurance, retail trade, transport, logistics, international currency transfers, accommodation, tourism, media, and advertising transforming how governments, businesses and citizens interact.

In 2016, the United Nations adopted a Post-2015 Development Agenda based around the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) asking countries to mobilise their future development agenda. Assessments of SGDs have demonstrated the value of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) and the Internet to development in underpinning infrastructure for economic and social progress and providing tools for programmes in sectors such as health, finance and education. That value has grown with time because of rapid improvements in technology, increased bandwidth, and new services like social media and cloud computing (Internet Society n.d.).

This presentation will explore how the Internet can facilitate the implementation of the SDGs; and how policies can be re-shaped so that ICTs play their due role in meeting the goals set in Pakistan’s Vision 2025. It will also look at the steps needed to make Pakistan cyber secure.