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Pakistan

The government of Pakistan is a keen pursuer of bilateral trade and investment agreements. It has a full FTA with Sri Lanka (2005), a PTA with Iran (2004) and Mauritius (2007), Early Harvest Schemes with China (2005) and Malaysia (2007), and is part of both ECOTA and SAFTA. It is in various stages of FTA talks, or preparations for talks, with Brunei, Indonesia, Jordan, Thailand, Malaysia, Morocco, Singapore, the Gulf Cooperation Council, Canada, Switzerland, Indonesia, Nepal, China, Turkey and Russia (among others). In July 2006, it signed a Framework Agreement on Trade with Mercosur.

Negotiations on a US-Pakistan bilateral investment treaty, as a step towards a US-Pakistan FTA, have been quite controversial and are unconcluded. After talks restarted in mid-2010, a draft US-Pakistan BIT was sent for approval to Pakistan’s Cabinet in April 2012. The Pakistani government has already signed almost 50 BITs with other countries. In 2011 Germany ratified a BIT with Pakistan.

On a wider scale, there is talk of possible Pakistani FTAs with Afghanistan, Algeria, the EU, Japan, Laos, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa and Tunisia.

last update: May 2012
Photo: Asian Development Bank/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0


Investment treaties and FDI
Not only are the BITs not necessary for attracting FDI, they have potential costs as well. A case in point is Pakistan, which is a signatory to 52 BITs, but has a rather poor record of attracting FDI.
Pakistan, Thailand to work for free trade agreement
Delegations from both countries met virtually at the second round of Pakistan-Thailand bilateral political consultations.
Pakistan sees nearly 70pc rise in exports to China
Pakistan recorded nearly 70% increase in exports to China in the first quarter of 2021, an official said.
Unmasking the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor
CPEC is an essential component of the Belt and Road Initiative, intended on creating new production sites and trade routes to connect China better with the rest of the world.
Pakistan seeks more trade with Central Asia in diversity push
Pakistan is looking to intensify trade with neighbor Afghanistan and countries in Central Asia, as it looks to diversify commerce beyond the top players, the nation’s trade adviser said.
US, Pak discuss COVID-19, agree to continue TIFA Agreement dialogue
The United States and Pakistan agreed to continue the Trade and Investment Framework (TIFA) agreement dialogue and Ambassador Tai expressed desire to build a strong US-Pakistan trade relationship.
Iran to ink free trade agreement with Pakistan: envoy
Efforts were initiated to sign a free trade agreement between Iran and Pakistan, Iranian Consul General in Peshawar Hamid Reza Ghomi said.
Kenya, Pakistan to review trade agreements
The governments of Kenya and Pakistan are in high-level discussion to review the bilateral trade agreement of 1983 to harmonise business levels between the two states.
Federal cabinet defers BIT strategy
The federal cabinet said to have deferred bilateral investment treaty (BIT) strategy for Pakistan proposed by the Board of Investment (BOI) to draw a roadmap for the future bilateral investment treaties.
Most of BITs to be scrapped
Pakistan has reportedly decided to scrap most of its existing Bilateral Investment Treaties as these pacts are shrinking the government’s policy space with respect to adopting measures of public interest.

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  • Pakistan FTAs
    Webpage maintained by the Ministry of Commerce