About 30 Pakistani technology leaders carried their country’s software pitch to Oslo Innovation Week 2026, where a delegation led by the Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) spent four days in Norway meeting Nordic investors, buyers and policymakers. The programme included more than 100 specialised sessions, and its centrepiece was a working session inside Norway’s parliament, the Storting, a rare setting for a visiting tech delegation.
Four Days of Nordic Deal-Making
The delegation was led by Kheezran Khan, P@SHA’s Director of Marketing and Outreach, and brought together around 30 founders, chief executives and innovators from Pakistani software houses. Across the week, which ran from 19 to 22 October 2026, delegates joined sessions and meetings covering artificial intelligence, deep tech, cleantech, health technology and the blue economy. Pakistan’s stall, so to speak, was its engineering bench: the delegation showcased the country’s strengths in artificial intelligence, software engineering, enterprise automation and green technology, the services Pakistani firms already sell to clients in North America, Europe and the Gulf.
A Working Session Inside the Storting
On the second day, the delegation moved into the Norwegian Parliament, where it was welcomed by Member of Parliament Farukh Qureshi, with Fredrik Syversen of the industry body TEK Norge helping to open the session. A bilateral business networking meeting followed in the same building, putting Pakistani founders across the table from Norwegian investors, business leaders and policymakers. The conversations were practical: joint ventures, investment into Pakistani firms, and partnerships in information technology, artificial intelligence and deep tech. Dr Shoaib Ahmed Khan, one of the delegates, said Pakistani engineering talent received genuinely positive recognition during the week.
Norway is a deliberate target for this kind of mission. TEK Norge, the Norwegian technology industry association, helped host the delegation because Norwegian firms, strong in clean energy, maritime technology and digital services, face the same shortage of software engineers as the rest of Europe, and Pakistani companies can supply complete engineering teams at a scale and cost few rivals match. P@SHA’s chairman has described the method plainly: connect Pakistani software houses directly with European companies and investors, and let the quality of the engineering close the deals. The week carried an official endorsement as well: alongside the parliament session, the embassy meeting hosted by Ambassador Asim Ali Khan put Norwegian tech professionals and members of the Pakistani-Norwegian community at the same table as the visitors.
Photo: Ryan Hodnett, via Wikimedia Commons
Oslo Innovation Week and the Road to $15 Billion
The trip is one move in a longer plan. Under P@SHA’s Strategy 2031, Pakistan aims to triple its IT exports to $15 billion by the fiscal year 2031, and its chairman has said the method is direct connection: Pakistani software houses in the same room as European companies and investors. Follow-up from Oslo now runs through P@SHA’s Brand and Global Outreach and Digital Export and Growth committees, which will work the contacts made during the week. It was not a first visit, either: a P@SHA trip to Oslo Innovation Week in 2023 had already started business negotiations that later succeeded, P@SHA, TEK Norge and the Pakistan embassy hosted a Pakistan Night networking event in Oslo in 2025, and Pakistan’s Ambassador to Norway, Asim Ali Khan, hosted the visiting professionals at the embassy during this year’s week. The Nordic push sits alongside Pakistan’s rise in the Global Innovation Index, fresh financing routes like the World Bank Fund of Funds for startups and a stronger skills base recognised by wins such as the telecom cyber security awards.
Sources
- Digital Pakistan: Pakistan’s $15 Billion IT Export Dream Heads to Norway, 1 November 2026
- ProAsiaTic: Pakistani IT Industry Explores New Opportunities in Nordic Markets Through Oslo Innovation Week 2026
- Pak Prism: Envoy Hosts Visiting Pakistani, Norwegian Tech Professionals in Oslo
- Featured image: The Storting, Norway’s parliament building in Oslo. Photo: Jorge Láscar, via Wikimedia Commons
- In-body image: Oslo City Hall, Norway. Photo: Ryan Hodnett, via Wikimedia Commons
Umar is an engineer by profession and a passionate writer by passion. He has a deep interest in sharing good news related to Pakistan and has been working hard to promote the positive image of his homeland. Umar has written numerous articles on various topics related to Pakistan, such as technology, sports, culture, and economy.